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JACKSON, Miss. — Whatever his prospects for winning the coming mayoral election in his hometown of Clarksdale, Miss., Marco McMillian was considered by many to be a man on the rise. So word spread fast when his SUV was involved in a wreck this week, and he was nowhere to be found.The discovery of the openly gay candidate’s body near a Mississippi River levee Wednesday stunned residents of Clarksdale, a Blues mecca in the flatlands of the Mississippi Delta.Authorities were investigating McMillian’s death as a homicide, and said a person of interest was in custody, but released few other details.”There’s a lot of people upset about it,” said Dennis Thomas, 33, who works at Abe’s Barbeque.”Why would somebody want to do something like that to somebody of that caliber? He was a highly respected person in town,” Thomas said.The 34-year-old Democrat wasn’t running what many would consider a typical campaign for political office in Mississippi, which is known for its conservative politics.Campaign spokesman Jarod Keith said McMillian’s campaign was noteworthy because he may have been the first openly gay man to be a viable candidate for public office in the state.Continue Reading… … Read More