Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has scheduled four special elections on Nov. 4, including one to fill the Mississippi Senate seat previously occupied by Democrat John Horhn, who recently became the mayor of Jackson.
Horhn has served Mississippi Senate District 26 since 1993. Voters in parts of Hinds and Madison counties will choose his successor in the Nov. 4 election.
The governor scheduled three additional special elections on Nov. 4. The Republican and Democratic primaries will be on Aug. 5.
Residents of Bolivar, Coahoma and Sunflower counties will vote in the Mississippi House District 26 special election to fill the vacant seat left by former Mississippi House Rep. Orlando Paden, a Democrat, after he became the new mayor of Clarksdale.
Mississippi Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, retired at age 92 in June after serving the citizens of Mississippi Senate District 24 for 32 years. He had been the district’s state senator since 1993. Residents of Leflore, Panola and Tallahatchie counties will choose a new senator this year.
“I hate to leave, but my wife of 71 years—born on the same day, we’ve been married 71 years—she needs me at home,” Jordan said on the Mississippi Senate floor on May 28.
Pearl River County voters will choose a tax assessor and collector on Nov. 4.
“This special election will be conducted only in the Picayune Southside 1 and Picayune 2 precincts, and the results of this special election will be added to the totals from the other 25 precincts, in accordance with the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law of the Circuit Court,” a July 7 press release from Reeves’ office says.
Other Special Elections Already Set for Nov. 4
The four special elections join other legislative special elections that the governor previously set for Nov. 4. A federal court ordered the Legislature to redraw its House and Senate district maps to include more majority-minority districts.
The court approved the House’s redrawn map but not the Senate’s map. Reeves, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson offered a new Mississippi Senate District plan, which the court accepted. The new maps prompted the legislative special elections.
The seats affected by the new maps include Senate District 11, Senate District 2, Senate District 42, Senate District 44, House District 16 and House District 41.
Forrest, Jones, Greene and Wayne county voters will decide whether to keep current Senate District 42 Sen. Robin Robinson, R-Laurel, or replace her.
Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, is not running for reelection, leaving Senate District 2 vacant. He announced in a June 5 Facebook post that he is stepping down to spend more time on his eyecare practice, Olive Branch Eyecare, and dedicate more time to his friends and family.
“This decision reflects my desire to devote more time to my family and to explore new ways to continue serving both our community and our state,” he wrote.
Lowndes County voters in Mississippi House District 41 will decide whether to keep their current lawmaker, House Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, or to elect someone else. Karriem has served House District 41 since 2016.
Voters in DeSoto, Quitman, Coahoma and Tunica counties will choose to either reelect Sen. Reginald Jackson, D-Marks, to represent Senate District 11 or pick someone else. Jackson has represented the district since 2024.
“While the map may have changed, my commitment to all the people of the district remains the same. I am running to continue being a strong voice for working families, rural communities, seniors, young people and everyone who believes that Mississippi can and should be a place of opportunity, fairness and dignity,” Jackson said in a June 9 Facebook post.
For Mississippi House District 16, Lee and Monroe counties voters will decide whether to reelect Rep. Rickey Thompson, D-Shannon, or choose his replacement. Thompson has been the district’s representative since 2020.
Polk’s Seat Also Up in Special Election
Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, who has served the residents of Mississippi Senate District 44 since 2012, retired from the Mississippi Senate this year.
If Polk had continued running under the new maps, he would have had to run in the minority-majority Senate District 45 under the new Senate map. Voters will choose his successor in the Nov. 4 election.
“I’m going to go home, and I’m going to be a regular old citizen,” he said on the Mississippi Senate floor on April 3. “And that’s a good thing to be, especially when I know that there are you, the Senate of Mississippi, who have the best interest of our state at heart. … Thank you for letting me serve with you for 14 years. It’s been the best 14 of my life.”
