Sen. Juan Barnett has retired from his position in the Mississippi Legislature.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announced Monday that Barnett, a Democrat from Heidelberg, submitted his resignation from the Senate. His resignation went into effect immediately. Barnett was first elected to the Mississippi Senate in 2015. Before that, he served as mayor of Heidelberg from 2001 until the time he assumed office in the state legislature.
“Senator Barnett has faithfully served the constituents of District 34 since 2016,” Hosemann said. “Throughout his tenure, he has been a dedicated public servant and a respected member of the Mississippi Senate, particularly through his work on corrections matters. We thank Senator Barnett for his years of service to the State of Mississippi and wish him a happy and well-deserved retirement.”
In the Senate, Barnett chaired the Corrections and vice-chaired the Enrolled Bills committees, while also serving on the Appropriations, County Affairs, Energy, Public Health and Welfare, Judiciary A and B, and Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks committees. He notably worked to ease the process of restoring the voting rights of nonviolent offenders.
Gov. Tate Reeves will now be tasked with announcing a special election for voters to elect Barnett’s successor. A special election date has not been announced at this time.
