Mississippi General Election

This page covers elections in Mississippi on November 7, 2023. Use the links below for full results coverage.

Mississippi is holding an election for governor as well as other statewide offices. Both branches of the state legislature are also on the ballot this year.

In races where no candidate gets a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will meet in a November 28 runoff.

Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

Statewide Offices

In 2020, voters repealed an electoral college-like provision in the state constitution that dated to the Jim Crow era. Under that law, candidates for statewide office needed to win the overall popular vote AND the popular vote in a majority of the state's 122 House districts. If a candidate failed to do both, the election would be decided by the State House.

As a result, this year's elections will be based solely on the statewide popular vote, although a majority vote or runoff requirement is now in place.

Governor

Republican Tate Reeves is seeking a second term. His Democratic challenger is Brandon Presley, a member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission (and second cousin of Elvis).

The two had a lively debate last week that touched on many of the issues driving the race.

Independent Gwendolyn Gray ended her campaign in early October and endorsed Presley. However, her name remains on the ballot, which is not insignificant as a majority vote is required to win. Should neither Reeves nor Presley reach that threshold, they will meet again in a November 28 runoff.  

Polling has been extremely limited. The last public poll unaligned with either candidate is over a month old; it showed Reeves leading 51% to 43%. A more recent survey, conducted for Democrats by Public Policy Polling had Reeves only up by one point. The narrative of a tightening race has not been countered by any subsequent polling released by the GOP. 

Sabato's Crystal Ball notes that for Presley to pull the upset would require "two major ingredients: Presley would need roughly 30% of the white vote (if exit polling is accurate, Democratic support has been in the 10-20% range in recent presidential races) while getting Black voters to make up at least one-third or so of the electorate."

Lt. Governor

In Mississippi, the election for lieutenant governor is separate from that for governor. The Republican incumbent, Delbert Hosemann, fended off a challenge from the right in the August primary. He is favored against the Democratic nominee, D. Ryan Grover.

Secretary of State

Incumbent Republican Michael Watson is seeking a second term. Democrat Shuwaski Young was unopposed in the August primary. However, he withdrew from the race for health reasons in early September.  He has been replaced on the ballot by Ty Pinkins, an attorney. Pinkins is also a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024, and he will be in the March Democratic primary for that office.

Attorney General

Republican Lynn Fitch is seeking a second term. 

State Legislature

State Senate

Republicans dominate the Mississippi State Senate, holding 36 of 52 seats. There are 15 Democrats and one independent. Members serve four-year terms.

State House

Republicans also have a large majority in the Mississippi House of Representatives. The party controls 76 seats, with 40 Democrats and three independents. There are three vacancies. Members serve four-year terms.