Tippah County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

Gray Tollison is the sitting judge of the 3rd Circuit Court District (Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Lafayette, Marshall, Tippah, Union), per the Mississippi Judiciary's official directory of circuit court judges and staff. Gray Tollison is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for that seat, unopposed, per the Mississippi Secretary of State's official sample ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 17, 2026.

Bart M. Adams is a law partner at Akins & Adams, P.A. in Ripley, and serves as county prosecutor for Tippah and Benton counties in his fifth term, as well as city prosecutor for Ripley, Walnut and Blue Mountain, per his campaign site. He previously served as municipal judge for the Town of Ashland and City of Ripley, and has spent seventeen years volunteering to teach government and economics at Ripley High School, per his campaign site. He holds a B.B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Mississippi.

Shirley C. Byers has served as Marshall County prosecuting attorney since 2007, per the Oxford Eagle. She has previously sought this circuit judge seat in 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. No campaign website was found as of September 17, 2026.

Steven Patrick Jubera has served as an assistant district attorney in the 3rd, 17th and 23rd circuit districts, per the Oxford Eagle. He was a candidate in the first Lafayette County Court Judge race in 2022. No campaign website was found as of September 17, 2026.

Kent E. Smith is the sitting judge of the 3rd Circuit Court District (Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Lafayette, Marshall, Tippah, Union), per the Mississippi Judiciary's official directory of circuit court judges and staff. Kent E. Smith is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for that seat, unopposed, per the Mississippi Secretary of State's official sample ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 17, 2026.

Jenessa Carter Hicks earned her J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2009 and has practiced law in Oxford for 17 years, with a focus on Chancery Court matters including divorce, child custody, guardianships and land disputes, per her campaign site. She has also handled civil litigation cases tried to jury verdict across the state, per her campaign site. This is an open seat left by the retirement of Judge Larry Little, and the race is headed to a November 3, 2026 runoff among four candidates, per the Oxford Eagle.

Sarah J. Liddy is an attorney in Holly Springs whose practice has focused on family law matters, including divorce, child custody and support, adoptions, wills and estates and real estate issues, per The Oxford Eagle. She earned her law degree and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Mississippi and has served as Marshall County's Youth Court Referee, including as interim referee for Benton and Tippah counties, and as the county's Master in Chancery, per The Oxford Eagle. No campaign website was found as of September 27, 2026.

Jennifer L. Shackelford has practiced law since being admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1998, with a career focused extensively on Chancery Court matters, per her campaign site. She has served more than 25 years as a certified Guardian ad Litem and 11 years as Youth Court Referee for Benton and Tippah Counties, and has three years of experience as a prosecutor for the Town of Byhalia.

Michael Watts began his career as a correctional officer at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and a police officer with the City of Cleveland Police Department before serving as a criminal investigator for the 11th Circuit District Attorney, per his campaign site. He graduated with honors from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1984 and has practiced with the Holcomb Law Group since, including a period as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Defense. He has served as Municipal Judge for Oxford, Mississippi and as an adjunct law professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Bob Whitwell, listed in court records as Robert Q. Whitwell, is the sitting Chancery Judge for the 18th Chancery District, based in Oxford, per the Mississippi Judiciary's official court directory. He is unopposed on the November 3, 2026 ballot. No campaign website was found as of September 17, 2026.