2025 Mississippi State Senate special election

2025 Mississippi State Senate special election

←  2023 November 4, 2025 2027 →
12 of 52 seats in the Mississippi State Senate (10 court-ordered, 2 due to vacancies) 27 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Dean Kirby Derrick Simmons Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 7, 2020 July 31, 2017 Leader's seat 30th district 12th district Last election 36 16 Seats before 36 14 [a] Seats won 6 4 Seats after 34 16 Seat change 2 2
Map of the incumbents:      Republican hold      Democratic gain     Democratic hold      Winner TBD     No election
President pro tempore before election Dean Kirby Republican Elected President pro tempore TBD

The 2025 Mississippi State Senate special election was held on November 4, 2025, to elect 10 of 52 members of the Mississippi State Senate. Special elections were called in 10 districts due to court-ordered redistricting, in addition a special election will be held on April 15 to fill a vacancy in one district. Primary elections will be held on August 5 and, if needed, runoff elections will be held on December 2. ^{[1] [2]}

Democrats flipped two seats, breaking the Republican supermajority.

Background

The election was called after court-ordered redistricting caused the state Senate map to be redrawn, as it was found to diminish the voting power of the state's African American population. ^[3] The new map creates two new majority black districts, one each in DeSoto and Forrest County, both without incumbents. ^[4] It then goes to court for approval, despite objections from lawmakers in DeSoto County and some Democrats, where it will await a ruling on the next day. ^{[5] [6]} In the first week of May, a panel of three judges approved the redrawn map from the Mississippi Election Commission and allowed 10 out of 15 districts to proceed with the special election. ^[7]

Retirements

Republicans

1. District 2: David Parker is retiring. ^[8]
2. District 44: John Polk is retiring. ^[9]

Summary

April 15 special election

See also: 2025 United States state legislative special elections

District	Incumbent			Result	Candidates [10]
	Member	Party	First elected
18	Jenifer Branning	Republican	2015	Incumbent resigned January 6, 2025, to join the Mississippi Supreme Court. [11] New member elected April 15, 2025. Republican hold.	▌Y Lane Taylor (Nonpartisan) 56.9% ▌Mark Forsman (Nonpartisan) 26.1% ▌Lindsey Kidd (Nonpartisan) 10.9% ▌Ike Melton (Nonpartisan) 3.9% ▌Marty Sistrunk (Nonpartisan) 2.1% [12]

November 4 special elections

District	Incumbent			Result	Candidates
	Member	Party	First elected
24	David Lee Jordan	Democratic	1993	Incumbent resigned June 30, 2025, to spend time with his family. [13] New member to be elected November 4, 2025.	Runoff: Curressia Brown Jason Colquett
26	John Horhn	Democratic	1992	Incumbent resigned June 30, 2025, after being elected mayor of Jackson. [14] New member to be elected November 4, 2025.	Runoff: Kamesha Mumford Letitia Johnson

November 4 redistricting elections

District	Incumbent				Candidates	Result
	Member	Party	First elected	Running
1	Michael McLendon	Republican	2019	Yes	▌Y Michael McLendon (Republican) 72% [15] ▌Chris Hannah (Democratic) 28%	Republican hold.
	Reginald Jackson (redistricted from SD 11)	Democratic	2023	Running in the 11th district
2	David Parker†	Republican	2012	No	▌Y Theresa Gillespie Isom (Democratic) 63% [15] ▌Charlie Hoots (Republican) 37%	Democratic gain.
10	Neil Whaley	Republican	2017	Yes	▌Y Neil Whaley (Republican) [16]	Republican hold.
11	Reginald Jackson	Democratic	2023	Yes	▌Y Reginald Jackson (Democratic) 67% ▌Kendall Prewett (Republican) 33% [15]	Democratic hold.
19	Kevin Blackwell	Republican	2015	Yes	▌Y Kevin Blackwell (Republican) 53% [15] ▌Dianne Black (Democratic) 47%	Republican hold.
34	Juan Barnett	Democratic	2015	Yes	▌Y Juan Barnett (Democratic) [17]	Democratic hold.
41	Joey Fillingane	Republican	2006	Yes	▌Y Joey Fillingane (Republican) [17]	Republican hold.
42	Robin Robinson	Republican	2023	Lost renomination	▌YDonald Hartness (Republican) [18]	Republican hold.
44	John A. Polk†	Republican	2011	No	▌Y Chris Johnson (Republican) 70% ▌Shakita Taylor (Democratic) 30% [15]	Republican hold.
	Chris Johnson (redistricted from SD 45)	Republican	2019	Yes
45	None (new district)				▌Y Johnny DuPree (Democratic) 71% ▌Anna Rush (Republican) 29% [15]	Democratic gain.

See also

• 2025 United States state legislative elections

Notes

1. Two vacant seats previously held by Democrats

References

1. Pender, Geoff (May 9, 2025). "Federal court approves Mississippi legislative redistricting. Special elections will proceed". Mississippi Today . Retrieved June 2, 2025.
2. "Mississippi state legislative special elections, 2025". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
3. Milam, Ben (February 27, 2025). "Mississippi Senate passes redistricting resolution in line with federal order". SuperTalk Mississippi Media. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
4. Vance, Taylor (February 27, 2025). "Mississippi Senate passes redistricting that calls for 10 new elections". Associated Press. Mississippi Today. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
5. "New Mississippi legislative maps head to court for approval despite DeSoto lawmakers' objections - Mississippi Today". March 5, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
6. "Court to rule on DeSoto County Senate districts with special elections looming - Mississippi Today". April 25, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
7. "Federal court approves Mississippi legislative redistricting. Special elections will proceed - Mississippi Today". May 9, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
8. "DeSoto Sen. David Parker will not run in November special election - Mississippi Today". June 6, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
9. McLaughlin, Grant (February 27, 2025). "MS Senate passes redistricting plan. See who will run in special elections and areas affected". The Clarion Ledger . Retrieved April 7, 2025.
10. Corder, Frank (March 10, 2025). "Five candidates qualify for Senate District 18 special election". Magnolia Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
11. Latino, Russ (November 27, 2024). "Jenifer Branning projected to unseat Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens". Magnolia Tribune. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
12. "Mississippi State Senate 18 Special Election General". Decision Desk HQ. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
13. Parker, Brooke (May 28, 2025). "After 32 years in office, Mississippi Senator announces retirement at 92". WDAM-TV . Retrieved June 1, 2025.
14. Harrell, Jeremy (June 4, 2025). "John Horhn wins Jackson mayoral election". WJTV . Retrieved July 2, 2025.
15. Corder, Frank (November 4, 2025). "Democrats pick up seats in Mississippi House, Senate due to court-ordered special redistricting elections". Magnolia Tribune.
16. "MS Senate passes redistricting plan. See who will run in special elections and areas affected". Clarion Ledger. February 27, 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
17. "Court-ordered special legislative elections: See who's running as of Friday". Magnolia Tribune. June 6, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
18. "Candidates line up for special Mississippi legislative elections. See who's running". Mississippi Today. Retrieved June 10, 2025.