Polls are now closed after special legislative elections were held across Mississippi on Tuesday.
14 seats in the House and Senate were forced to reshuffle due to a federal order saying the state was diluting Black voting power, with primaries for those being held in August and the general on Tuesday.
Three special nonpartisan elections were also held to fill vacancies from members who left before their terms were up. If no candidate in those surpasses the 50% mark, a runoff will be held Dec. 2.
Of the 17 seats voted on Tuesday, seven were uncontested. The following are already set to take office come January:
- Democratic Rep. Rickey Thompson in House District 16 (Chickasaw, Lee, Monroe, and Pontotoc counties) defeated Brady Davis in the primary and is unopposed in the general.
- Democratic Rep. Karl Gibbs in House District 36 (Clay, Lowndes, Monroe, and Oktibbeha counties) was unopposed in the primary and remains unopposed in the general.
- Republican Rep. Dana McLean in House District 39 (Lowndes and Monroe counties) was unopposed in the primary and remains unopposed in the general.
- Democratic Rep. Kabir Karriem in House District 41 (Lowndes County) defeated Pierre Beard in the primary and is unopposed in the general.
- Democratic Sen. Juan Barnett in Senate District 34 (Covington, Jasper, and Jones counties) was unopposed in the primary and remains unopposed in the general.
- Republican Sen. Joey Fillingane in Senate District 41 (Covington, Lamar, Marion, and Walthall counties) was unopposed in the primary and remains unopposed in the general.
- Republican Don Hartness in Senate District 42 (Forrest, Greene, Jones, and Wayne counties) unseated Sen. Robin Robinson in the primary and is unopposed in the general.
The other 10 races were contested. Live updates throughout the night from each district will be provided below.
House District 22 (Chickasaw, Clay, and Monroe counties)
10:45 p.m.: Justin Crosby has flipped the red seat blue. The Democrat secured 53% of the vote to take down incumbent Jon Lancaster, who earned 47% of ballots cast.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. Incumbent Republican Jon Lancaster is facing off against Democrat Justin Crosby. More on each candidate can be found here.
House District 26 (Bolivar, Coahoma, and Sunflower counties)
9:45 p.m.: Otha Williams III won the House District 26 seat outright, according to a Facebook post by Kim Seals.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. This is one of the three nonpartisan races being held. Mary Frances Dear-Moton, Kim Seals, and Otha Williams III are vying to win the seat previously held by now-Clarksdale Mayor Orlando Paden. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 1 (DeSoto and Tate counties)
9:30 p.m.: Michael McLendon wins his re-election bid. The incumbent earned roughly 71.55% of the vote while Chris Hannah got 28.03% of the ballots cast.
7:34 p.m.: DeSoto County’s official government Facebook page shows McLendon holding 72% of votes over Hanna’s 28% with 41 of 47 precincts reporting. No numbers have been reported from Tate County.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. Incumbent Republican Michael McLendon is facing off against Democrat Chris Hanna. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 2 (DeSoto and Tate counties)
10:15 p.m.: Theresa Isom has flipped a red seat blue. Isom secured 62.8% of the vote, while Charlie Hoots earned 37.2%.
7:34 p.m.: DeSoto County’s official government Facebook page shows Isom holding 60% of votes over Hoots’ 40% with 41 of 47 precincts reporting. No numbers have been reported from Tate County.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. Republican Charlie Hoots and Democrat Theresa Isom are facing off to earn the seat previously held by Republican Sen. David Parker, who decided not to seek reelection. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 11 (Coahoma, DeSoto, Quitman, Tate, and Tunica counties)
9:05 p.m.: Reginald Jackson is the winner of the District 11 race, earning 67.28% of the vote compared to Kendall Prewett’s 32%.
8:35 p.m.: With DeSoto and Quitman counties reporting, Jackson has reclaimed the lead, garnering 58.08% of the vote while Prewett has just over 40% of ballots cast.
7:34 p.m.: DeSoto County’s official government Facebook page shows Prewett holding 51% of votes over Jackson’s 49% with 41 of 47 precincts reporting.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. Incumbent Democrat Reginald Jackson is facing off against Republican Kendall Prewett. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 19 (DeSoto County)
9:00 p.m.: Kevin Blackwell has won re-election. With 100% of DeSoto County precincts reporting, Blackwell won 52.63% of the vote compared to Dianne Black’s 47.12%.
8:07 p.m.: Blackwell holds a slight edge over Black with 46 of 47 precincts in DeSoto County counting. The incumbent has 51.79% of the vote, while Black has 47.99%.
7:34 p.m.: DeSoto County’s official government Facebook page shows Blackwell holding 52% of votes over Black’s 47.7% with 41 of 47 precincts reporting.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. Incumbent Republican Kevin Blackwell is facing off against Democrat Dianne Black. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 24 (Leflore, Panola, and Tallahatchie counties)
Nov. 12 at 1 p.m.: Official results show Justin Pope landed with enough votes to make the runoff against Curressia Brown.
9:10 p.m.: Curressia Brown and Jason Colquett appear to be heading to a runoff, although results are still unofficial. Brown garnered 24% of the vote, compared to Colquett’s 20%, with Pope just behind Colquett. Everette Hill, Lorette McClee, and Georgio Proctor got the remaining votes.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. This is one of the three nonpartisan races being held. Curressia M. Brown, Jason Colquett, Everette Hill, Lorette McClee, Justin Pope, and Georgio Proctor are vying to win the seat previously held by the retiring Sen. David Jordan. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 26 (Hinds and Madison counties)
9:25 p.m.: Kamesha Mumford and Letitia Johnson are heading to a runoff. With 100% of precincts reporting, Mumford secured 38.7% of the vote, while Johnson earned 27.8% of ballots. Boyd, Cooley, Pittman, and Stallworth split the remaining votes.
9:08 p.m.: With 93% of precincts reporting, it appears that Mumford and Johnson are heading to a runoff. Mumford secured 37.1% of the vote while Johnson got 26.6%. Boyd, Cooley, Pittman, and Stallworth split the remaining votes.
8:55 p.m.: With 62% of precincts reporting, Mumford has surged ahead of the field, corralling 29% of the vote. Johnson is a close second with 28.4%, while Boyd has 22.4%. Cooley, Pittman, and Stallworth are splitting the remaining votes.
8:27 p.m.: With 29% of precincts reporting, Boyd has 30.5% of the vote, Mumford has 29.9%, and Johnson has 23.2%. Kennedy, Cooley, Pittman, and Stallworth are splitting the remaining votes.
8:09 p.m.: With 8% of precincts reporting, Boyd has 32.4% of the vote, while Mumford has 29.4% and Johnson has 21.2% of the vote. Kennedy, Cooley, Pittman, and Stallworth are splitting the remaining votes.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. This is one of the three nonpartisan races being held. Coleman Boyd, Jermaine Coolet, Letitia Johnson, Theresa G. Kennedy, Kamesha Mumford, James Pittman, and Jeffrey Stallworth are vying to win the seat previously held by now-Jackson Mayor John Horhn. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 44 (Forrest, Lamar, and Perry counties)
8:53 p.m.: With 100% of precincts reporting, Johnson is the winner of the election, earning 69.5% of the vote, while Taylor grabbed 30.5% of ballots cast.
8:46 p.m.: With 98% of precincts reporting, it appears Johnson is heading to victory, with 64.4% of the vote compared to Taylor’s 35.6%.
8:36 p.m.: With 85% of precincts reporting, Johnson holds a 69% to 31% lead over Taylor.
8:04 p.m.: With 46% of precincts reporting, Taylor has surged. Johnson now holds a 70.1% to 29.9% over Taylor.
8:00 p.m.: With 27% of precincts reporting, Johnson maintains a commanding advantage over Taylor with 84% of the votes compared to the Democrat’s 16%.
7:58 p.m.: Johnson has slightly built on his lead with 23% of precincts reporting, as he now leads Taylor by 68 points.
7:50 p.m.: Johnson has taken a commanding lead over Taylor, going up 83% to 17% with 14% of precincts reporting
No updates yet. Incumbent Republican Chris Johnson is facing off against Democrat Shakita Taylor. More on each candidate can be found here.
Senate District 45 (Forrest and Lamar counties)
9:57 p.m.: Johnny Dupree has been elected to the Mississippi Senate. Dupree earned 69.2% of ballots cast while Anna Rush secured 30.8% of the vote with 100% of precincts reporting.
8:59 p.m.: With 92% of precincts reporting, Dupree has 71.3% of the vote while Rush has 28.7%.
8:46 p.m.: With 83% of precincts reporting, Dupree has 69.7% of the vote and Rush has 30.3%. It looks like the former Hattiesburg mayor is veering toward victory.
8:31 p.m.: With 62% of precincts reporting, Dupree has 71.1% of the vote while Rush has 28.9%.
8:27 p.m.: With 46% of precincts reporting, Dupree has rebuilt his lead, grabbing 75.1% of the vote while Rush has garnered 24.9%.
8:16 p.m.: With 33% of precincts reporting, Dupree’s lead has dwindled a little. He now has 69.8% of the vote compared to Rush’s 30.2%.
8:06 p.m.: With 10% of precincts reporting, Dupree has 85.2% of the vote, while Rush has 14.8%.
8:03 p.m.: With 8% of precincts reporting, Dupree has jumped off to a hot start, garnering 88.1% of the vote compared to Rush’s 11.9%.
7 p.m.: No updates yet. Democrat Johnny Dupree and Republican Anna Rush are facing off to earn the seat. More on each candidate can be found here.
