Howard Sherman, the Democratic contender for U.S. Senate seat, lost the primary runoff election to David Baria Tuesday night.

With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Baria had 59 percent of the vote, or 39,697 votes, to Sherman’s 27,229. 

Sherman, an entrepreneur from California, won the Lauderdale County vote, but lost in the statewide election to Baria, a state house representative from Bay St. Louis.

Sherman and his wife, Meridian actress Sela Ward, live in Lauderdale County and won the support of their home county. Sherman received 73 percent of the vote, or 1,488 votes, to Baria’s 546 in Lauderdale County.

“Lauderdale County knows us intimately,” Sherman told reporters at Weidmann’s Restaurant on Tuesday night. “So they were the most informed about what I stood for.”

Sherman and Ward declined to elaborate on their post-election plans, other than to say they planned to eat dinner as a family and get some rest. 

Both touched on some negative aspects of the campaign, such as the repeated questions about Sherman’s voting record and past candidate contributions. 

“A statement was made and Mississippi is not ready for change,” Sherman said. “They voted for the conventional, not out-of-the-box.”

The two didn’t say they would support Baria in the fall for the general election but said they wouldn’t support Wicker. 

“We vote for people with a moral compass so we have a lot to think about,” Ward said. 

When asked if Sherman would run again for political office, Ward said he would.