NATCHEZ &045; Calling it &uot;the sweetest victory I’ve ever had,&uot; former senator Robert Johnson III won the District 94 House of Representatives seat with 2,037 votes to Alderman James &uot;Rickey&uot; Gray’s 1,799.

Tuesday’s special election was held to fill the seat left vacant when Phillip West resigned to be sworn in July 1 as mayor of Natchez.

The district includes 14 precincts in Adams County, three in Jefferson County and one in Claiborne County. Johnson said the fact that most of his new district lies in his native Adams County made the victory even more special.

&uot;Before, I had to run mostly outside my home county, Š in places like Amite County and McComb,&uot; Johnson said during his celebration at the Old Brick House on Martin Luther King Jr. Street.

Johnson, who won 52.45 percent of the vote, was referring to campaigns he waged during his 10 years as a state senator.

This time, Johnson said, he was campaigning among his friends and neighbors &045; and he added that getting the chance to represent them as a state representative &uot;is very rewarding.&uot;

The campaign’s only downside, he said, was having to defend his past record of defending Fortune 500 companies as an attorney.

&uot;They called on me. Š But there are many individuals I (represented), too,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;I did my job and went all over the country (on such cases), but I still call Natchez home.&uot;

Johnson said his first priorities as representative will be to set up a meeting with Gov. Haley Barbour in an attempt to find new ways to solve the state’s Medicaid crisis.

He said he will fight for 100 percent funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, designed to provide coverage for the children of the working poor.

&uot;Before we talk jobs, we have to take care of those things,&uot; Johnson said. But he said he would still keep abreast of industrial prospects and would do whatever he could to attract them to the area.

After leaving his get-together at the Natchez Elks Lodge, Gray went to the Old Brick House to congratulate Johnson on his win.

&uot;He’ll do a good job,&uot; said Gray, who won 47.5 percent of Tuesday’s vote. &uot;I also told him I want him to be more visible in the community.&uot;

Gray said he had eyed West’s former House of Representatives post for a long time and couldn’t rule out running again for a higher political office &045; although he would need to pray about it first.

Other than that, Gray simply took time out to thank his supporters and tell them he loves them.

&uot;Everything I do, I do from the heart, and I know they supported me from the heart,&uot; Gray said. &uot;They did it because they believed in me.&uot;