Voters in Mississippi Senate District 26, which includes parts of Hinds and Madison counties, will elect a new senator in a Dec. 2 special election runoff. The new senator will take the seat formerly held by Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, after voters elected him as Jackson’s new mayor in June.
After no candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the Nov. 4 general election, two candidates advanced to a runoff: Letitia Johnson and Kamesha Mumford. The special election is nonpartisan, though either candidate is expected to caucus with Democrats.
You can learn about each candidate’s views on the issues in the short guide below. You can also read our Q&A with Letitia Johnson and our Q&A with Kamesha Mumford for more on their views and ideas.
Letitia Johnson
Background: Jackson, Mississippi, resident Letitia Johnson is an attorney and the former president of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees.
She says on her website that she aims to give more money to public schools, raise teachers’ salaries and make college education more affordable. She says she wants to help Mississippians gain health-care coverage and have access to mental health services. Maternal health and infrastructure need more funding, she says, and Mississippians should have access to life-saving reproductive health care services.
“You have to have jobs available once you have children educated and ready for the workforce. And then you want them raised in a safe environment, and in order for them to be whole, they have to have access to health care,” she told the Mississippi Free Press in a Q&A. “So what I’m really saying is that I’m advocating for a healthy community. And these are all the components of a healthy community.”
She advocates for addressing crime by adding re-entry programs in the state to help formerly incarcerated people re-enter society and not reoffend after release. Johnson says she wants to look at “the root causes of crime” and work on crime prevention, mental health issues and addiction. Adding more community centers and parks is another way to make communities safer and more involved, the candidate says.
She wants to end the grocery tax and says the state should not eliminate the state income tax.
“Regressive state tax policies, like the grocery tax, place an unfair burden on poor and working-class families,” Johnson says on her website. “Families that are already struggling to make ends meet are met at the grocery store by a tax that has not produced a return on investment. Other regressive policies like the elimination of the state income tax will also disproportionately impact poor and working-class families through less funding for services like education and healthcare.”
Policy Views:
- Wants to increase funding for public schools
- Hopes to raise teachers’ salaries
- Aims to add more community spaces, like parks and community centers
- Looks to address crime prevention, mental health issues and addiction
- Opposes regional board taking over Jackson’s water system
- Wants to eliminate the grocery tax
Website: electletitiajohnson.com
Social Media: Instagram | Facebook
Read our Q&A with Letitia Johnson here.
Kamesha B. Mumford
Background: Canton, Mississippi, Municipal Court Judge Kamesha B. Mumford is a resident of rural Hinds County near Pocahontas and an attorney at Mumford & Mumford Law Firm. She attended Mississippi State University and Mississippi College School of Law.
The candidate is the president of the Mississippi Municipal Judges Association and a member of the DUI Information Exchange Advisory Committee. Mumford is a member of the general counsel and former president of Counsel of Dress for Success Metro Jackson, and she is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Lefleur’s Bluff Chapter of The Links, Inc., and Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
Concerning infrastructure and economic development, Mumford says on her website that she wants to improve roads, highways and bridges and increase engineering and construction job opportunities. She hopes to provide economic stability for families and protect Mississippi’s Public Employees’ Retirement System.
After 12 years as a judge, Mumford says her focus is on crime prevention—not just punishment and response.
“Public safety isn’t just responding to crimes when they happen. It’s making sure that we have parameters in place for crime prevention. Because the young man was there this morning in my court, he had seriously injured another community member who he didn’t even know. They had no relationship, but it was because of his mental illness that we had two families that were grieving this morning. So establishing a mental health court is really important to me,” she told the Mississippi Free Press in a Q&A on Nov. 12. “It’s also important to me—when I think about public safety—that we have other things like after-school programs for our children and workforce development for young people who are looking for direction. It takes a collaborative approach to have a safe community.”
Every Mississippi household should have broadband access, the candidate says. Mumford also advocates for increasing teachers’ salaries and classroom resources. Volunteer fire departments need more support and resources and public safety should be visible to reduce crime, she says.
Policy Views:
- Wants to create more engineering and construction jobs
- Aims to bring economic stability for families
- Hopes to boost capacity of volunteer fire departments
- Backs mental health courts and other crime prevention measures
- Advocates for broadband access for all Mississippians
- Wants to raise teachers’ salaries
Website: kmumford4senate.com
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok
Read our Q&A with Kamesha Mumford here.
Mississippians will vote for legislative offices on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. Any eligible registered voter who registered to vote in person and had their voter registration application postmarked at least 30 days ahead of the election can cast a ballot in the special runoff election.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Contact your local circuit clerk or election commissioners for polling place information. Voters must bring an accepted form of photo ID to the polls; if they do not have an accepted form of photo ID, voters can get a free voter ID from their local circuit clerk before Election Day. For more information, visit sos.ms.gov/yall-vote.