Heather Turner, who previously worked as a deputy clerk in the Panola County Circuit Clerk’s office for 12 years, won 41 percent of the vote on Tuesday in the race for the Circuit Clerk position. 

Teresa “Chelle” Dishmon finished second with 31 percent of the vote.

Turner and Dishmon will have a runoff election on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Mandy Herring came in third with 27 percent of the 13,693 votes cast.

Precinct By Precinct Totals Are Here

Some 63 percent of the registered Panola County voters (22,658) voted in the Circuit Clerk’s race (14,453), which was a special election to fill the seat. The vacancy happened when Melissa Meek Phelps resigned the position last December, a couple of weeks before she was scheduled to be sworn in for another term.

Attorney Kirk Willingham was appointed to fill the office until Tuesday’s election. The winner will be sworn in after the Election Commission certifies the results of the runoff election and those are filed in the Secretary of State’s office.

In the Circuit Clerk’s race, 11,545 people voted at their precincts on Tuesday. Another 2,048 ballots were cast early in the Circuit Clerk’s office or received by post at the Courthouse.