Mississippi Democratic Party elects a new leader

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The Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Committee has elected a new leader.

Former Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Tyree Irving defeated state Rep. Earle Banks for the party’s chairmanship, WLBT reports. The vote was 54-21.

Irving becomes the first African American state party chair since 1998.

He takes the place of attorney and former state representative Bobby Moak, who held the post since 2016.

Irving, a Greenville native, was elected to the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 1998 and retired in 2018. He was the court’s presiding judge beginning in 2011 until his retirement.