Mississippi Democrats made significant gains in Tuesday night’s special legislative elections, breaking the Republican Mississippi Senate supermajority, with Democrats nabbing two Republican-held Mississippi Senate seats and flipping a Mississippi House seat.
Six Senate seats were up for a special election on Tuesday, along with one House seat, because a federal court ordered the State to create more Black-majority legislative districts earlier this year. Three other races for vacated seats—two in the Senate and one in the House—were also contested.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits racial discrimination in voting and mandates that racial minorities must have an equal opportunity to participate in the election process. That could soon change, however, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed majority appeared inclined to strike down Section 2 during oral arguments in a case last month.
Democrats will likely hold 18 of 52 Senate seats and 42 of 122 House seats when the Mississippi Legislature returns to session in January 2026.
Here’s a look at Tuesday night’s election results.
Mississippi House District 22
Democrats flipped Mississippi House District 22 from Republican control. With about 53% of the vote, Democrat Justin Crosby defeated incumbent Republican House District 22 Rep. Jon Lancaster, who received about 47% of the vote.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting reported preliminary election results at midnight on Wednesday.
The district includes parts of Chickasaw, Clay and Monroe counties.
House District 22 is one of the districts that lawmakers redrew in response to a court order.
Mississippi House District 26
Winning 52% of the vote, Otha E. Williams defeated Kim Seals and Mary France Dear-Moton outright in the Mississippi House District 26 nonpartisan special election. Seals garnered about 33% of the vote while Dear-Moton won 13%.
The Clarksdale Press Register reported the unofficial election results late Tuesday night.
The seat, which was held by Democratic Rep. Orlando Paden until he became Clarksdale’s mayor over the summer, was vacant. Candidates ran as nonpartisan, but Williams is expected to join the Democrats in the Legislature.
Mississippi House District 26 includes parts of Bolivar, Coahoma and Sunflower counties.
Mississippi Senate District 1
Incumbent Republican Mississippi Sen. Michael McLendon secured another term in Mississippi Senate District 1, winning about 72% of the vote, the Commercial Appeal reports. He defeated Democrat Chris Hanna, who got 28% of the vote.
All ballots have been counted.
Mississippi Senate District 1 includes parts of DeSoto and Tate counties.
Senate District 1 is one of the districts that lawmakers redrew in response to a court order.
Mississippi Senate District 2
In Mississippi Senate District 2, Democrat Theresa Gillespie Isom secured victory by garnering 63% of the vote, the Commercial Appeal reports. Her Republican opponent, Charlie Hoots, won 37% of the vote.
Republican Sen. David Parker of Olive Branch previously held the seat, but decided not to run for reelection after the State redrew his district’s boundaries in response to a court order.
All ballots have been counted.
The district includes parts of DeSoto and Tunica counties.
Mississippi Senate District 11
Mississippi Senate District 11 incumbent Sen. Reginald Jackson, a Democrat from Marks, Mississippi, won 67% of the vote, the Commercial Appeal reports. He defeated Kendall Prewett, a Republican, who collected 33% of the vote.
All ballots have been counted.
Parts of DeSoto, Tate, Tunica, Coahoma and Quitman counties are included in the district.
Senate District 11 is one of the districts that lawmakers redrew in response to a court order.
Mississippi Senate District 19
Incumbent Mississippi Senate District 19 Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven, secured reelection with 53% of ballots cast in his favor, defeating Democratic opponent Dianne Dodson Black, who received 47% of the vote.
All ballots have been counted.
Parts of DeSoto County make up the district.
Senate District 19 is one of the districts that lawmakers redrew in response to a court order.
Mississippi Senate District 24
Mississippi Senate District 24 will head to a runoff election, as no candidate received more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday.
Curressia M. Brown led the crowded field with 25% of the vote. About 20% of District 24 voters chose Justin Pope, who finished in second place.
In a tight race for third and fourth place, Everette Hill garnered 16% of the vote and Jason Colquett earned 16% of the vote. Loretta McClee won 15% of the vote and Georgio Proctor received 8%.
Curressia Brown and Justin Pope will face each other again in a Dec. 2 special runoff election.
The Mississippi Senate District 24 special election followed Sen. David Jordan’s retirement from the seat. Candidates ran as nonpartisan in the district’s special election, but either of the runoff candidates is expected to caucus with Democrats.
The Greenwood Commonwealth reported the unofficial election results on Tuesday night. It is currently unclear whether or not all ballots have been counted.
The district includes parts of Leflore, Panola and Tallahatchie counties.
Mississippi Senate District 26
In Hinds and Madison counties, 11,603 voters cast ballots for the Mississippi Senate District 26 special election. About 95% of votes are counted for this race.
Kamesha Mumford obtained the most votes, with about 37% of voters selecting her for the seat. Letitia Johnson earned about 27% of the vote. Anti-abortion activist Coleman Boyd came in third place with 19% of the vote. With 7.2% of the vote, Theresa Kennedy notched a fourth place result. Coming in last place, Jermaine Cooley secured 6.7% of the vote.
Since none of the candidates collected 50% or more of the vote, the district will have to hold a special runoff election on Dec. 2 with the two candidates who garnered the most votes, Kamesha Mumford and Letitia Johnson.
The Mississippi Senate District 26 special election followed former Sen. John Horhn’s election as mayor of Jackson. Candidates ran as nonpartisan in the district’s special election, but either of the runoff candidates is expected to caucus with Democrats.
Mississippi Senate District 44
Almost 69.5% of voters chose Mississippi Sen. Chris Johnson, who is currently the senator for District 45, to represent Mississippi Senate District 44, WDAM reports. He defeated Democrat Shakita Taylor, who won about 30.5% of the vote.
Johnson had to run in District 44 after court-ordered redistricting changed his district lines.
Mississippi Senate District 44 includes parts of Forrest, Lamar and Perry counties.
Mississippi Senate District 45
Former Hattiesburg, Mississippi, mayor Johnny DuPree, a Democrat, secured Mississippi Senate District 45 with 71% of the vote. His challenger, Republican Anna Rush, won 29% of the vote, WDAM reported.
The district includes parts of Forrest and Lamar counties. Republican Sen. Chris Johnson previously held the seat before the state redistricted this year.