According to unofficial votes from Tuesday, Tracey rosebud received 1,429 votes (53 percent) in a special election to fill the vacant seat of Rep. Robert Huddleston. Conservative Blake Ferretti earned 1,275 votes (47 percent), in a race for the seat. Rosebud will join the House Democrats as well as the Legislative Black Caucus. Rosebud and Ferretti were the two candidates who ran for the seat in May 8. Many in the district were openly skeptical that a white candidate should win, and race was a frequent theme. Huddleston, who held the seat for 23 years represents a district of 61% blacks. This district, which stretches from Shaw to Cleveland over to Ruleville and up towards Clarksdale, was created in the 1990s to provide a black representative. Rosebud is black, and hails from Tutwiler. Blake Ferretti is from Cleveland. Although the race was not officially nonpartisan, Democratic groups supported Rosebud and conservative groups backed Ferretti.