Now that Mississippi’s primary elections are behind us, our attention turns to the Nov. 5 general election in Mississippi and more immediately to the Oct. 12 primary elections in Louisiana.

The field has been set for the Nov. 5 Mississippi general election with the remaining races that were not decided in the primaries, but in Louisiana, and Concordia Parish, the races are just beginning.

Concordia Parish has several important local elections on the ballot including races for sheriff, clerk of court and police jury seats.

In the build up to the Mississippi elections, The Natchez Democrat published one free announcement for candidates who wished to do so and now with Louisiana races at hand we offer Louisiana primary candidates the same.

Some Louisiana candidates have already submitted their announcements and had them published but time is running out to get announcements in before the Oct. 12 primaries in Louisiana.

We also encourage Mississippi candidates who will be on ballots for the general election and who have not already had a free announcement published to submit one.

Below are some guidelines for candidates to submit announcements to The Democrat in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 general election in Mississippi and for the Oct. 12 Louisiana primaries.

As always, candidates have the opportunity to buy paid political advertisements to tell their story and share their vision with readers in print and online.

Candidate announcements

Candidates who have not yet submitted political announcements and photos to introduce themselves to the community may still submit an announcement.

We will publish one announcement per candidate for free.

Announcements must be no more than 500 words and will be published in either Sunday or Wednesday editions, as space allows on a first come, first served basis.

No Louisiana primary candidate announcements will be published after Oct. 9, which is one week prior to the Oct. 16 Louisiana primary elections. The deadline to submit announcements is Sept. 27 for the Oct. 16 Louisiana primary elections and Nov. 1 for the Nov. 16 Louisiana general elections. No Mississippi general election candidate announcements will be published after Oct. 27, which is the week before the Nov. 5 general election. The deadline to submit announcements is Monday, Oct. 21, for the Nov. 5 Mississippi general election.

Announcements can include biographical information, experience, qualifications and platform points. Announcements may be edited for style, clarity, grammar and length.

Letters to the editor

Readers, including friends and family of the candidates, are invited to write letters to the editor about the upcoming race, as long as those letters follow our one rule: Be nice. We will publish letters in favor of one specific candidate, but will not publish letters that bash other candidates.

We will only publish letters containing provable facts and character opinions — not speculations or untruths. We will not publish letters from the candidates themselves.

No election letters will be published the week of the election, so the deadline for any election-related letters is Monday, Oct. 21, in Mississippi and Sept. 27 in Louisiana.

Top of the Mornings and other columns

Candidates will not be allowed to write Top of the Mornings, guest columns or letters to the editor on any topic during the election season. The election season is defined as the period from the day after the qualifying deadline to the day after elections.

News stories

Reporters will work to provide voters with as much information as they can about each candidate, but will present only facts, not opinions.

The Natchez Democrat editorial board will be interviewing remaining candidates in Mississippi’s contested races who were not interviewed before the August primaries and will be making endorsements in some key Mississippi races before the Nov. 5 general election.

News staff will always give candidates the opportunity to speak through news stories in which they are involved. Readers who have questions for candidates are encouraged to submit them to us at newsroom@natchezdemocrat.com or by calling 601-445-3540.

Scott Hawkins is editor of The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at 601-445-3540 or scott.hawkins@natchezdemocrat.com.