Mississippi Sen. Jenifer Branning is looking to make a career change, one that includes being part of the state’s highest court.
On Thursday, the Republican lawmaker from Philadelphia confirmed that she has qualified to run for the District 1, Place 3 seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court. The position has been held by Justice Jim Kitchens since 2008.
Branning, an attorney by trade who has been in the legislature since 2016, issued the following statement.
“Today, I qualified for the election to the Mississippi Supreme Court – District 1, Place 3. Mississippians expect and deserve to have judges that fairly and equally apply laws to all of our citizens.
“They also expect their judges to be responsible and to represent their values. I am confident that my experience as an attorney of 20 years and as a currently legislator make me uniquely qualified to serve the people of District 1 in the Mississippi Supreme Court. Just as our citizens expect consistency, integrity, and efficiency in the application of our laws, so does the business community. I am proud of the conservative, pro-business record I’ve had in the legislature, and I look forward to earning the votes of the people in District 1 in the upcoming months.”
Kitchens and Branning will be joined on the ballot by Ceola James. James, a former Mississippi Court of Appeals judge, ran against Kitchens in 2008, garnering a little over 10 percent of the vote in the three-person race.
With justices not publicly representing political parties, there are no primaries for the supreme court’s four seats up for grabs this year. The general election will be held on Nov. 5 alongside presidential and congressional races.
