2023 Mississippi Elections

The 2023 Mississippi elections took place on November 7, 2023, with the primary on August 8 and any required runoffs on August 29. All executive offices in the state up for election, as well as all 52 seats of the Mississippi State Senate, all 122 seats in the Mississippi House of Representatives, and many local offices. The qualifying deadline for all 2023 Mississippi races was February 1, 2023.

Special elections also took place during the year.

State House of Representatives

State senate

Governor

Lieutenant governor

One-term Republican incumbent Delbert Hosemann was elected in 2019 with 60% of the vote. He ran for re-election.

Republican state senator Chris McDaniel also announced his candidacy, challenging Hosemann.

Republicans Shane Quick (who ran against Hosemann in 2019) and Tiffany Longino also filed for the race, as did Democrat D. Ryan Grover, a former candidate for the Oxford Board of Aldermen.

Secretary of state

After considering challenging Tate Reeves in the 2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election, Michael Watson instead decided to run for re-election as Secretary of State.

Former Mississippi Secretary of State Staffer and 2022 Democratic nominee for Mississippi's 3rd congressional district Shuwaski Young announced his bid to unseat Watson.

Republican primary

Candidate

* Michael Watson, incumbent secretary of state

Results

Democratic primary

Candidate

*Shuwaski Young, former Mississippi Secretary of State Staffer and 2022 Democratic nominee for Mississippi's 3rd congressional district

Results

Democratic State Central Committee selection

In August 2023, Shuwaski Young withdrew his candidacy from the race for secretary of state, citing "a hypertensive crisis that was limiting his ability to campaign." On September 7, the Mississippi Democratic Party nominated Ty Pinkins, an attorney and military veteran, as the replacement nominee for the November ballot.

General election

Polling

;Michael Watson vs. Shuwaski Young

Results

Attorney general

One-term Republican incumbent Lynn Fitch was elected in 2019 with 57.83% of the vote, becoming the state's first Republican attorney general since 1878. She ran for re-election.

Democratic attorney and Disability Rights Mississippi Litigation Director Greta Kemp Martin ran to challenge Fitch.

Republican primary

Candidate

* Lynn Fitch, incumbent attorney general

Results

Democratic primary

Candidate

*Greta Kemp Martin, attorney and Disability Rights Mississippi Litigation Director

Results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

;Lynn Fitch vs. Greta Martin

Results

State auditor

Incumbent Republican Shad White was appointed as auditor in 2018, winning his first full term unopposed in 2019. White ran for re-election.

The mayor of Anguilla, Democrat Larry Bradford, challenged White in the general election.

Republican primary

Candidate

* Shad White, incumbent state auditor

Results

Democratic primary

Candidate

*Larry Bradford, Mayor of Anguilla

Results

General election

Results

State treasurer

One-term Republican incumbent David McRae was elected in 2019 with 60.8% of the vote. He ran for re-election, and was unopposed in the Republican primary.

McRae faced a rematch in the general election, as former member of the Bolton Board of Aldermen Addie Lee Green was the only Democrat to announce a run. Lee Green received 39.2% of the vote in 2019.

Republican primary

Candidate

*David McRae, incumbent state treasurer

Results

Democratic primary

Candidate

*Addie Lee Green, former member of the Bolton Board of Aldermen

Results

General election

Results

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

Two-term Republican incumbent Andy Gipson was re-elected in 2019 with 58.7% of the vote. Gipson ran for re-election, and was the only Republican on the ballot.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Andy Gipson, incumbent Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Robert Bradford, Director of Natchez-Adams County Homeland Security Program, Floodplain Management Program, Emergency 9-1-1 Coordinator, and Emergency Management Agency.
* Bethany Hill, executive director of the Mississippi Women's Cannabis Chamber of Commerce
* Terry Rogers II, college student

Withdrawn or disqualified

* Robert Briggs

Results

General election

Results

Commissioner of Insurance

Four-term Republican incumbent Mike Chaney was reelected in 2019 with 61.26% of the vote. Chaney, who also serves as the state's Fire Marshal, ran for re-election.

Republican Mitch Young, a former US Navy Petty Officer and candidate for governor in 2015, announced a primary challenge against Chaney.

Democratic attorney and 2022 Court of Appeals in District Four candidate Bruce Burton also ran.

Republican primary

Candidates

* Mike Chaney, incumbent commissioner
* Mitch Young, former U.S. Navy Petty officer and candidate for governor in 2015

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Bruce Burton, attorney and candidate for Appeals Court District 4 in 2022

Results

General election

Results

Public Service Commission

Northern District

Four-term Democratic Incumbent Brandon Presley was re-elected unopposed in 2019. Presley did not run for a fifth term, instead opting to run for governor.

No Democrats filed to run to succeed Presley, leaving the field open for two Republican challengers to run for the open seat:

* Chris Brown, Mississippi State Representative for the 20th District.
* Tanner Newman, Tupelo Planning and Zoning Administrator.
Mandy Gunasekara, former Chief of Staff for the Environmental Protection Agency, was a challenger, but she was removed from the ballot due to citizenship eligiblity issues.

Republican primary

= Candidates

=
* Chris Brown, Mississippi State Representative
* Tanner Newman, Tupelo Planning and Zoning Administrator.

= Results

=

Results

Central District

One-term Republican incumbent Brent Bailey was elected in 2019 with 50.3% of the vote. He ran for re-election.

Bailey's 2019 Democratic opponent, current state representative De’Keither Stamps, faced him again in a rematch.

Democratic primary

= Candidate

=
* De’Keither Stamps, State Representative

= Results

=

Republican primary

= Candidate

=
*Brent Bailey, incumbent Public Service Commissioner

= Results

=

Results

Southern District

One-term Republican Incumbent Dane Maxwell was elected in 2019 with 62.6% of the vote. Maxwell was challenged in the primary by Nelson Wayne Carr and lost.

Republican primary

= Candidates

=
* Dane Maxwell, incumbent Public Service Commissioner
* Nelson Wayne Carr, construction manager, landlord, and Republican Party activist

= Results

=

Results

Transportation Commission

Northern District

One-term Republican Incumbent John Caldwell was elected in 2019 with 63.2% of the vote. He ran for re-election unopposed.

Republican primary

= Candidate

=
* John Caldwell, incumbent Transportation Commissioner

= Results

=

Results

Central District

One-term Democrat Incumbent Willie Simmons was elected in 2019 with 51.1% of the vote. He ran for re-election.

Ricky Pennington Jr., a Republican, also ran for the seat.

Democratic primary

= Candidate

=
* Willie Simmons, incumbent Transportation Commissioner

= Results

=

Republican primary

= Candidate

=
*Ricky Pennington Jr., candidate for this district in 2019

= Results

=

Results

Southern District

Three-term Republican incumbent Tom King won re-election unopposed in 2019. On November 16, 2022, King announced he would not seek re-election.

Republican state representative for the 111th District Charles Busby ran against Independent Steven Brian Griffin.

Republican primary

= Candidate

=
* Charles Busby, State Representative

= Results

=

Results

Notes

References

{{2023 United States elections

2023 elections in the United States by state
2023 Mississippi elections