Ready or not, the next round of Mississippi elections is upon us. Candidates have until February 1st to qualify.
Qualifying for statewide, district, legislative and county offices begins on January 3rd and runs through February 1st at 5pm.
Mississippi is among three states holding state executive elections and four states holding legislative elections in 2023.
All eight statewide elected offices along with the six state district commissioners will be on the ballot. Those include:
- Governor
- Lt. Governor
- Secretary of State
- Attorney General
- State Auditor
- State Treasurer
- Insurance Commissioner
- Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner
- Public Service Commissioners for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts
- Transportation Commissioners for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts
All seats but two are currently held by Republicans. Democrats Brandon Presley and Willie Simmons serve as the Northern District Public Service Commissioner and Central District Transportation Commissioner, respectively.
As of this article, the incumbent officeholders in each of these statewide and district seats are expected to seek re-election in 2023 expect Southern District Transportation Commissioner Tom King. King recently announced his retirement. State Representative Charles Busby (R), House Transportation Committee Chairman, has announced a run for the Southern District seat.
There is speculation as to whether or not Northern District Public Service Commissioner Presley will choose to vie for a higher office but he has repeatedly said he is focused on running for the PSC seat once again.
Presley is currently the only incumbent with an announced opponent. Republican Mandy Gunasekara has been actively running for the Northern PSC seat since mid-November.
All 52 state Senate and 122 House of Representative seats will also be up for grabs as will the county elected offices for Supervisors, Sheriffs, District Attorney, Circuit Clerk, Chancery Clerk, Tax Collector, Tax Assessor, Coroner, Election Commissioners, Constables, Justice Court Judges, and more.
Republicans currently hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature.
Speaker of the House Philip Gunn is among a handful of lawmakers who have announced that they will not be seeking re-election to their legislative seats in 2023. Gunn’s Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Jason White looks to take the gavel assuming he wins his own re-election bid in his House District and Republicans solidify their majority in the chamber.
Candidates in Mississippi’s elections can choose to qualify and run under the two main political parties – Republican or Democrat – and run in their party primaries, or can register to run as a third-party candidate or as an independent.
The Primary Election Day for 2023 will be August 8th, followed by the Primary Runoff Elections, if need be, on August 29th.
The General Election in Mississippi will be November 7th.
For more information on how to qualify to run for a particular office, contact your county Circuit Clerk or the Mississippi Secretary of State.
Frank Corder
