Perry Van Bailey is a farmer who is a former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.
[2] House District 23 included people in Calhoun, Grenada, Lafayette, and Webster counties.
Beckett had resigned to become the director for the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff.
[2] Special legislative elections in Mississippi are officially nonpartisan, though Van Bailey stated he would serve as a Republican.
[6][2] Van Bailey faced Stepp in a rematch in the Republican primary for the 2023 general election to the same seat.