WOODVILLE — The long and often contentious road to the Wilkinson County Democratic primary is finally over.

Wednesday afternoon, 29 of the 54 members of the Wilkinson County Democratic Executive Committee — all but one of those present — voted to certify the results of the specially called election.

The certified votes showed 2,282 votes for incumbent Sheriff Reginald Jackson to challenger Jesse Stewart’s 2,219. Jackson will now face independent Calvin Gaines in the general election July 22.

With 1,970 votes, incumbent Circuit Clerk Mon Cree Allen received fewer than challenger Lynn Tolliver Delaney, whose votes totaled 2,476. Independent Donna Smith will challenge Delaney in the general election.

District 2 Supervisor Richard Hollins will stay in office, receiving 552 votes to challenger Kirk Smith’s 523 votes.

The initial vote counting for the election lasted well into the morning hours Wednesday, and many members at the 2 p.m. certification said they had not slept or had only slept for one or two hours.

And though there has been significant tension between committee members in the past, often divided along racial lines, members spoke of the fairness of Tuesday’s election.

“I don’t think there was a hitch,” Wilkinson County Democratic Executive Committee co-chair Ann Greer said. “What we had to do last night went off smoothly. I think the certification was accurate.”

Committee member Bettye Plitt agreed.

“I thought we worked well together with no disagreements that were not easily settled,” Plitt said.

At Tuesday night’s vote counting, several observers asked why more black committee members were not chosen to participate in the vote counting, but Greer said she and co-chair Elmo Ross, who is black, chose those who worked in Tuesday’s election together.

“Not all committee members were allowed to participate, but all were observant and aware of what went on (Tuesday),” Greer said.

There was no reason for the committee not to unify, member Eugene Tolliver said.

“We might as well come together,” Tolliver said. “There’s no reason a county this small should be taking until 5 a.m. to count ballots.”

But at least one committee member was unhappy with how things went, and when Greer asked the committee to vote to certify the elections to comply with the court order that called the election, committee member William Johnson voiced his dissatisfaction.

“I am not voting for a thing,” Johnson said. “If the shoe was on the other foot, (the other faction) would be for burning (the election) down. I am for burning (it) down.”

Judge Jim Persons, who was appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court to hear a contest filed by Allen, Hollins and Jackson, called for the election in late February.

The three incumbents were the declared winners of the election, originally held in August 2007, until a then one-person majority of the committee voted to toss out all absentee, affidavit and curbside ballots from the election because of allegations of voter buying and fraud.

That decision reversed the winners to Delaney, Smith and Stewart.

Persons called the new election after the court could not determine who had access to the paper ballots in the time between the initial election and the time the contest went to court in November.

Persons ordered that, when the general election votes are certified, the winner should immediately be sworn into office.