Voters in seven Mississippi legislative districts, including five House and two Senate districts, will choose candidates in Republican and Democratic special primary elections on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

The affected districts must host elections this year after a three-judge panel ordered the Mississippi Legislature to undergo redistricting to ensure Black voters had equal participation in the political process. 

Those districts include Senate District 1, Senate District 2, Senate District 11, Senate District 41, Senate District 42, Senate District 44, House District 16 and House District 41.

The Democratic and Republican candidates that voters choose in Tuesday’s election will head to the special election on Nov. 4.

Mississippi House Primaries

House District 16: Chickasaw, Lee, Monroe and Pontotoc Counties

Democrats:

  • Rickey Thompson (incumbent)
  • Brady Davis

House District 41: Lowndes County

Democrats:

  • Kabir Karriem (incumbent)
  • Pierre D. Beard, Sr.

Mississippi Senate Primaries

Senate District 1: DeSoto and Tate Counties

Republicans:

  • Michael McLendon (incumbent)
  • Jon Stevenson

Senate District 2: DeSoto and Tunica counties

Democrats:

  • Theresa Gillespie Isom
  • Robert J. Walker

Senate District 11: Coahoma, DeSoto, Quitman, Tate and Tunica Counties

Democrats:

  • Reginald Dejuan Jackson (incumbent)
  • Abe M. Hudson, Jr.

Senate District 42: Forrest, Greene, Jones and Wayne counties

Republicans:

  • Robin Robinson (incumbent)
  • RJ Robinson
  • Don Hartness

Senate District 44: Lamar, Perry and Forrest Counties

Republicans:

  • Chris Johnson (incumbent)
  • Patrick Lott

Fourteen special legislative elections are set for Nov. 4, including three special elections set to fill legislative seats that are empty after a senator retired and two legislators became mayors. 

Those districts are Senate District 26, which Jackson Mayor John Horhn previously represented; House District 26, which Clarksdale Mayor Orlando Paden formerly served and Senate District 24, which retired Sen. David Jordan formerly represented. 

Because Horhn, Paden and Jordan resigned from their legislative positions, Mississippi law does not require primary elections for the affected districts. Aug. 21 is the qualifying deadline for those who want to run for office to represent Senate District 24, Senate District 26 and House District 26. The candidates running for those offices will be nonpartisan, and the winners will declare their party affiliation after Gov. Tate Reeves swears them into office.

The Mississippi Secretary of State’s website has a My Election Day tool that allows Mississippians to type in their address to see where they go to vote and which candidates will be on the ballot. The Mississippi Free Press urges voters to also call their local election officials to confirm their polling place.

Mississippians will vote for legislative offices in the Tuesday, Aug. 5 special primary election. Any eligible registered voter who registered in person or had their voter registration application postmarked by July 3 can cast a ballot in the special primary 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 voter ID to the polls. For more information, visit sos.ms.gov/yall-vote.

State Reporter Heather Harrison has won more than a dozen awards for her multi-media journalism work. At Mississippi State University, she studied public relations and broadcast journalism, earning her Communication degree in 2023. For three years, Heather worked at The Reflector student newspaper: first as a staff reporter, then as the news editor and finally, as the editor-in-chief. This is where her passion for politics and government reporting began.
Heather started working at the Mississippi Free Press three days after graduation in 2023. She also worked part time for Starkville Daily News after college covering the Board of Aldermen meetings.
In her free time, Heather likes to sit on the porch, read books and listen to Taylor Swift. A native of Hazlehurst, she now lives in Brandon with her wife and their Boston Terrier, Finley, and calico cat, Ravioli.