Nicole Akins Boyd won a second term in the Miss. Senate Tuesday with a strong performance in the Republican primary for the Dist. 9 seat. Her challenger, Ricky Caldwell, won two of the six Panola County precincts – Sardis Lake and Sardis Courthouse – by a combined total of 16 votes, but was outpolled significantly in the other boxes.

Boyd, who will represent fewer voters than before in Panola County after recent redistricting, has enjoyed good support in the county since first taking office, and is often seen at events in the City of Batesville and the county.

She beat Caldwell 907 to 448 (unofficially) in Panola. Her biggest voter turnout came at the Batesville Courthouse, where she won 347 to 153, and at the county Extension Building, where she won 178-57.

In Lafayette County, Boyd garnered 4,506 votes to Caldwell’s 1,289, giving her a 76 percent edge in each county, and overall.

There were no Democratic candidates for the seat on the ballot, and no Independent candidates qualified for the November general election.