Mississippi voters will elect candidates to serve in the Legislature in eight Mississippi Senate special elections and two Mississippi House special elections on Nov. 4. This guide is for the House elections, but you can read our candidate guide for the Mississippi Senate special elections at this link.
Mississippi House District 22 is up for a special election because a federal court ordered the State to create more Black-majority legislative districts earlier this year. The election is partisan, with a Democratic candidate running against a Republican in these districts.
One other House district is holding a nonpartisan special election. Residents of the Mississippi House District 26 will vote to fill a seat vacated by former Democratic House Rep. Orlando Paden after he became the new mayor of Clarksdale. Since it is a regular special election, this election is nonpartisan.
In several other districts that held special primaries this year, there will be no election Nov. 4 because only one party ran a candidate in the primaries. Those include District 16, where Democrat Rickey Thompson is the winner; District 36, where Democrat Karl Gibbs is the winner; District 39, where Republican Dana McLean is the winner; and District 41, where Democrat Kabir Karriem is the winner.
You can use the list below to jump to a district and the map below the list to see where each district is, along with information about each district.
- House District 22 (Chickasaw, Clay and Monroe counties)
- House District 26 (Bolivar, Coahoma and Sunflower counties)
Mississippi House Special Elections Map
Mississippi House District 22
Chickasaw, Clay and Monroe counties
House District 22 is one of the districts that lawmakers redrew in response to a court order. Candidates in this special election are affiliated with a party.
Jon Lancaster, Republican incumbent
Background: Incumbent Mississippi House District 22 Rep. Jon Lancaster is a farmer who lives in Amory, Mississippi. He graduated from Houston High School in Houston, Mississippi.
In 2019, voters elected Lancaster to represent Mississippi House District 22 as a Democrat. He was inaugurated on Jan. 7, 2020. In November 2021, he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
He is the vice chairman of the House Public Utilities Committee and a member of the Agriculture, Public Health and Human Services, State Affairs, Transportation and Workforce Development House committees.
Lancaster wanted homeschooled students to be able to participate in public school extracurricular activities through legislation that he cosponsored in the 2025 legislative session. House Bill 729 died in the House Education Committee and House Bill 617 died in the Senate Education Committee.
The House District 22 representative sponsored legislation to make the sweet potato Mississippi’s state vegetable in 2025. His House Bill 287 died in the Senate Tourism Committee, but a Senate bill that designated the sweet potato as the state’s official vegetable became law on July 1.
Lancaster voted in favor of banning diversity, equity and inclusion in public schools in 2025. In 2024, he voted in favor of expanding Medicaid. He supported requiring all sports teams sponsored by public K-12 schools, colleges and universities to designate teams based on “biological sex” under a bill that Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law in 2021 that targeted transgender athletes.
Lancaster voted to lower the state income and grocery taxes while increasing the state gas tax through House Bill 1, which became law this year.
The representative voted to replace the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees members and to stop the mandated 10% employer increase for PERS in 2024.
“I am committed to ensuring the sustainment of a healthy retirement system for all future, current, and previous employees while maintaining all benefits that were promised,” Lancaster said in a March 14, 2024, Facebook post.
Policy Views:
- Voted to expand Medicaid in 2024
- Vote to ban DEI in public schools in 2025
- Voted in favor of legalizing online sports betting in 2024 and 2025
- Voted in 2025 to give state employees six weeks of paid parental leave for primary caregivers
Website: None publicly available.
Social Media: Facebook
Justin Crosby, Democrat
Background: Justin Crosby is an operations leader at Higher Level Logistics who lives in Aberdeen, Mississippi. He graduated from Itawamba Community College, Delta State University and the University of Mississippi.
He supports expanding Medicaid to improve health care access, especially in rural areas. The candidate wants to attract jobs to House District 22 and help local businesses thrive. Crosby hopes to upgrade infrastructure to bring more job creators to the district.
“Every community in District 22 deserves to be seen, heard, and supported,” Crosby says on his campaign website. “I’m committed to building connections across our district—investing in what unites us and addressing what holds us back. Our towns aren’t just places on a map—they’re homes, legacies and launching pads for the next generation.”
Policy Views:
- Aims to improve health care access by expanding Medicaid
- Wants to boost education and schools
- Hopes to help local businesses and economic development
- Wants to support farmers
Website: www.crosbyfor22.com
Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
Mississippi House District 26
Bolivar, Coahoma and Sunflower counties
The Mississippi House District 26 special election follows former House Rep. Orlando Paden’s election as the new mayor of Clarksdale. The special election is nonpartisan.
Mary Frances Dear-Moton, nonpartisan
Background: Mary Frances Dear-Moton is the founder of the Family and Youth Opportunities Division nonprofit organization focused on addressing community needs. She serves on the Coahoma Community College Board of Trustees and is the director of the Coahoma Opportunities AmeriCorps Seniors Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.
The House District 26 candidate previously worked for the City of Jackson’s Department of Human and Cultural Services where she started a partnership with Hinds Community College to create a GED program. Dear-Moton also worked for the Jackson Police Department as a social worker.
Dear-Moton obtained two master’s degrees, a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate from Jackson State University. She helped bring the Women, Infants and Children program and the School Breakfast program to Coahoma County to feed pregnant and nursing mothers, children and families. The candidate worked with legal services to expunge 236 Mississippians’ criminal records.
Dear-Moton lives in Clarksdale, Mississippi. She is the daughter of civil rights organizer Rachel Parker-Dear of Bobo, Mississippi. Former Mississippi House District 26 Reps. Dr. Aaron E. Henry and Leonard Henderson are related to Dear-Moton. She’s also a cousin of Emmett Till and blues musician Little Junior Parker.
“This campaign is not about the seat—it’s about the responsibility that comes with the opportunity to serve,” Dear-Moton told the Clarksdale Press Register. “I’ve spent my life advocating for equity, education and empowerment. Now, I’m ready to bring that work to the State Capitol.”
Policy Views:
- Wants to strengthen every level of public education
- Wants to “support” and “invest” in historically Black colleges and universities
- Proposes expanding broadband access to every Mississippi household
- Hopes to prioritize improving infrastructure statewide
- Supports expanding Medicaid to dig people out of the coverage gap
- Plans to continue expunging criminal records
- Wants to create summer job programs for youth
Website: None publicly available
Social Media: None publicly available
Kimberlyn “Kim” C. Seals, nonpartisan
Background: Kimberlyn Seals is a Clarksdale, Mississippi, native and former educator. She has an associate’s degree from Coahoma Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi Valley State University and a master’s degree from Bethel University.
Seals pledges to help the Mississippi Legislature pass a teacher salary pay raise “to meet or exceed the southeastern average,” she notes on her website. She also wants to boost funding and resources for classrooms to help students and teachers succeed. Reforming state testing policies is another topic she wants to address if elected.
The candidate says middle and high schools should have at least two resource officers per school and that the Legislature should increase security funding.
Regarding infrastructure, Seals aims to “repair and replace deteriorating bridges,” she says on her website, as well as improve local roads and expand more highways to four lanes as needed.
Protecting and growing agriculture in the Mississippi Delta is another of Seals’ priorities, and she plans to help give resources and create policies that help farmers. She also hopes to bring a “large-scale manufacturing facility” to bring high-paying jobs to House District 26.
“Family farms are the backbone of our communities. They grow our food, create good jobs, strengthen our local economies, and keep our small towns alive,” Seals said in a Sept. 19 Facebook post. “That’s why I’ll fight for strong ag policies that ensure fair prices, affordable inputs, and reliable infrastructure to move our harvest to market. I’ll champion investments in irrigation, drainage, soil health, rural broadband, and transportation so our farmers and families can thrive.”
Policy Views:
- Wants to improve infrastructure for agriculture, roads, bridges, highways
- Pledges to raise teachers’ salaries
- Aims to increase funding and resources in classrooms
- Hopes to bring more high-paying jobs to Mississippi House District 26
Website: www.seals4house.com
Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
Otha E. Williams III, nonpartisan
Background: Otha E. Williams III is a work-based learning coordinator at Coahoma Community College. He lives in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and received his bachelor’s degree from Alcorn State University.
The candidate says on social media that he wants to “protect and expand the gains we’ve made” in Mississippi House District 26 under former House Rep. Orlando Paden while “pushing for bold, bright solutions” geared toward the future. Williams advocates for improving schools, neighborhood safety and health-care access.
“I will work to protect and expand the gains we’ve made; while also pushing for the bold, smart solutions we need to address today’s challenges,” he said in a July 7 social media post. That means advocating for better schools, more economic opportunities, safer neighborhoods, and access to healthcare for every family in our district.
Policy Views:
- Wants to repair and maintain infrastructure
- Hopes to improve schools
- Aims to boost health-care access
- Wants to make neighborhoods safer
Website: None publicly available
Social Media: Instagram | Facebook | TikTok
Correction: This guide originally included candidates in districts where only one party fielded a candidate, including districts 16, 36, 39 and 41. In those districts, the winner of the sole primary is the winner of the election.