JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<select id="opsContactId">
</select>
JavaScript
var tmp = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ],
dept = 2;
$.each(tmp, function (k, v) {
$("<option/>").attr( "value", k )
.text( "Value - " + k )
.appendTo( $("#opsContactId") )
.prop( 'selected', ( k == dept ? 'selected' : '' ));
});