By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Steven Palazzo of Biloxi has reportedly defeated Joe Tegerdine of Petal in Tuesday’s Fourth Congressional District Republican primary election.

Pickens Mayor Joel L. Gill has reportedly won the Third Congressional District Democratic primary, defeating Shawn O’Hara of Hattiesburg and James D. Jackson of Brandon.

Marion County is divided between the Third and Fourth Congressional Districts, with the city of Columbia in the Fourth.

Palazzo, a state representative, CPA and veteran, will now face Democrat incumbent Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis in the November general election. Gill will face incumbent Gregg Harper of Pearl in the general election.

Palazzo also won in Marion County, receiving 70.3 percent of the votes here, compared to Tegerdine’s 29.7 percent, according to unofficial election results. Affidavit votes will be counted Wednesday morning at the Marion County Courthouse.

In Marion County, voter turnout for the Fourth District race was low with only 431 ballots cast out of approximately 10,298 registered voters.

In the Third District race Jackson came out on top in Marion County with 46 percent of the vote; Gill 28 percent; and O’Hara 25.5 percent.

In Marion County, there were only 200 votes cast in the Third District race out of  approximately 6,742 registered voters.

Marion County Circuit Clerk Jesse Loftin said there were two voting machines in the White Bluff precinct that lost power today. Voters there had to cast votes by paper ballot because of the problem. Loftin said the malfunction with the voting machines was apparently electronic in nature. There was only one vote cast before the machines went down, Loftin added.

Prior to the election, Lofin predicted a low voter turnout. “There was not a lot of exposure by the candidates,” Loftin noted. “Normally when there is only one race on the ballot you generally don’t have a very large turnout.”