Mississippi Democrats improperly excluded candidate for governor, judge says

(AP) — Mississippi could have a Democratic primary for governor in August because a judge ruled Friday that the party improperly excluded a candidate from the ballot. Hickingbottom, who has described himself as a political operative, ran for governor as a Constitution Party candidate in 2019. The executive committee also excluded Gregory Wash from running for governor this year, after he ran a low-budget campaign for governor in the Democratic primary four years ago. The party’s decisions left Brandon Presley, a four-term public service commissioner, as the only Democratic candidate for governor. Attracting support from Black voters is an important part of winning a Democratic primary.