NATCHEZ — Another Republican candidate has thrown her hat into the ring to run for the Mississippi Senate District 37 seat being vacated at the end of the by Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez.

Morgan Poore of Meadville, an associate attorney at Halford Law Firm and a former attorney/law clerk in the First Chancery District of Mississippi, has filed paperwork with the Mississippi Republican Party Headquarters in Jackson.

Republican candidates who had previously filed to run in the Aug. 6 Republican Party Primary for the District 37 seat, include:

• Milt Burris of Magnolia who is a co-owner at Glass Builders of Mississippi and who studied forestry at Mississippi State University.
• Former Dist. 37 State Sen. Melanie Sojourner who handed Dearing his only defeat in 2011 for the seat he has held since 1980. Dearing then defeated Sojourner in the 2015 election.

Other Republican candidates who have announced their candidacies in other races include:

Dist. 97 Mississippi State Rep. Sam C. Mims V, R-McComb, who so far is the only other area state office candidate to file his candidacy with the Mississippi Republican Party so far.

As for Democratic Party candidates:

• Incumbent Dist. 38 Mississippi Sen. Tammy Witherspoon, D-Magnolia, has announced her intention to run for re-election as have incumbent Dist. 94 State Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, and incumbent Dist. 96 State Rep. Angela Cockerham, D-Magnolia.

Mississippi Democratic Party headquarters in Jackson has not made any Democratic Party candidate filings public.

Candidates for county seats, such as circuit clerk, sheriff, supervisors and tax collectors must file in their respective counties’ circuit clerk’s offices.

Statewide candidates running as either Republicans or Democrats must file paperwork with the party headquarters in Jackson since they will first run in the party primaries statewide.

The deadline for candidates to qualify for any state or county seats is 5 p.m. March 1.

Party primaries will be held Aug 6 and any necessary runoffs will be Aug. 27.

The general election will be Nov. 5 and necessary runoffs will be Nov. 26.