Sixteen incumbents face challengers in Mississippi’s Senate primary

By

Mercedes Yanora

Sixteen incumbents in the 52-member Mississippi State Senate faced primary challengers on Aug. 8. As of Aug. 9, Sen. Philip Moran (R), of District 46, was the only incumbent defeated in the primary, while the race featuring Sen. Sarita Simmons (D), of District 13, was too close to call.

Ballotpedia identified eight battleground primaries in Mississippi’s Senate based on media coverage and endorsements. Of the eight primaries, six were Republican and two were Democratic. Six of these primaries featured incumbents, while two were in open districts.

Democratic battlegrounds:

  • Mississippi State Senate District 27: Incumbent Hillman Frazier defeated Marvin Hightower with 60% of the vote to Hightower’s 40%. The Mississippi Association of Educators endorsed Frazier.
  • Mississippi State Senate District 29: Incumbent David Blount defeated Dwayne Pickett with 79% of the vote to Pickett’s 21%. The Mississippi Association of Educators endorsed Blount.

For Democrats, campaign priorities and messages included: civil rights, economic development, public safety, education, police reform, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Republican battlegrounds:

  • Mississippi State Senate District 6: Incumbent Chad McMahan defeated Lauren Smith with 57% of the vote to Smith’s 43%. The Mississippi Association of Educators endorsed McMahan, while the Mississippi Freedom Caucus endorsed Smith.
  • Mississippi State Senate District 9: Incumbent Nicole Boyd defeated Ricky Caldwell with 76% of the vote to Caldwell’s 24%. The Mississippi Association of Educators endorsed Boyd, while the Mississippi Freedom Caucus endorsed Caldwell.
  • Mississippi State Senate District 15: Incumbent Bart Williams defeated Alan Sibley with 60% of the vote to Sibley’s 40%. The Mississippi Association of Educators endorsed Williams, while the Mississippi Freedom Caucus endorsed Sibley.
  • Mississippi State Senate District 19: Incumbent Kevin Blackwell defeated Walter Hopper with 59% of the vote to Hopper’s 41%. The Mississippi Freedom Caucus endorsed Hopper.
  • Mississippi State Senate District 36: The race between Jared Morrison and Brian Rhodes was too close to call as of Aug. 9. This district was open, meaning no incumbents ran.
  • Mississippi State Senate District 42: Robin Robinson defeated Don Hartness with 56% of the vote to Hartness’ 44%. This district was open, meaning no incumbents ran. The Mississippi Freedom Caucus endorsed Hartness.

For Republicans, campaign priorities and messages included: education, constitutional rights, cutting taxes, conservative values, public safety, second amendment rights, and election integrity.

The general election is on Nov. 7 of this year. Learn more about the Mississippi Senate elections and the battleground elections Ballotpedia identified using the link below.