The Democratic Party primary that began Tuesday will have to wait three more weeks before it is fully completed.

Troy Kimble and Shawn Jackson will face each other in an April 27 runoff after each failed to win more than 50 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary for mayor.

The winner of the runoff will face incumbent Mayor George Flaggs Jr. and Daryl Hollingsworth in June’s general election.

While the complete results are unofficial, Kimble finished Tuesday’s race with 731 votes, compared to Jackson’s 712 votes. Former South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson finished third with 478. The runoff election for mayor will be the only race on the April 27 ballot.

The returns include the absentee and affidavit ballots, election officials said.

“We’ll start tomorrow (on the runoff),” Kimble said. “I’d probably start tonight but there’s not enough time.”

He said he plans to be more visible and “we’re going to go out there and see exactly what we didn’t do last time and step up and see what we need to do to see what their (voters) concerns are; something that we may not have addressed before. We’ll also try to hit other areas (in the city) we may have missed during the campaign for the primary.

“It’s a shorter time frame but we can get it done.”

Kimble and Jackson each won five of the city’s 11 precincts with Thompson winning one.

“We’re excited that the voters obviously are choosing that they want to see change in Vicksburg,” Jackson said. “I’m happy to be one of the agents that they view that can bring in good change.”

She said she has no plans to change her campaign for the runoff.

“We’re just going to go back to the base that we never abandoned and make sure that they understand our full plan to help create a bright future for Vicksburg,” she said.

Jackson said she plans to resume her campaign on Wednesday morning, adding, “We have a small amount of time to work in, but we’re excited about it and we’re looking forward to winning in two weeks.”

Thompson called his defeat “disappointing but the people have spoken and you have to accept the outcome and move on. I wish Ms. Jackson and Mr. Kimble the best of luck and hope they get the opportunity to present their platforms on what they can do for the people.”

He would not say if he will endorse a candidate.

“I would like to hear more of what’s being said by the candidates before giving an endorsement,” Thompson said. “That’s the way I’ve always voted; I like to be aware of the issues and select the best candidate based on what they’re going to do for the city.

“There’s a lot of important things that are not being talked about enough and some tough decisions are going to have to be made. I’d like to be open before I make an objective endorsement.”