Meet the new members of the Mississippi Legislature

• Redistricting and resignations lead to new faces coming to the Mississippi Capitol in January.

Special legislative elections were held Tuesday in Mississippi due to court-ordered redistricting to allow for more majority-minority districts and to fill unexpired terms following recent resignations.

Democrats picked up two seats in the state Senate, breaking the Republican supermajority, and also added one seat in the state House.

READ MORE: Democrats pick up seats in Mississippi House, Senate due to court-ordered special redistricting elections

Here is a look at the new members of the Mississippi Legislature.

Senate District 2 – Theresa Isom (D)

Isom pulled in over 60 percent of the vote in the newly drawn Senate District to allow for increased majority-minority districts in the northwest Mississippi area. State Senator David Parker (R) did not seek re-election in this redrawn district.

Isom is a native of Memphis who has lived in Mississippi since 2005. She has previously worked as a registered nurse, educator, health care administrator, and community advocate.

She has been actively involved in DeSoto County Democratic politics since 2019, hosting voter registration drives, candidate forums, and policy discussions. Isom, like the other Democratic candidates running in the special elections, received the backing of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee and the Mississippi Democratic Party. Congressman Bennie Thompson (D- MS 2) also endorsed Isom’s campaign.

Senate District 42 – Don Hartness (R)

Hartness easily won the three-person Republican Primary for this redrawn Senate District in August, unseating incumbent state Senator Robin Robinson. Hartness drew over 70 percent of the vote after losing to Robinson two years ago in the 2023 state elections. No Democrats ran for the seat.

Hartness, an Army veteran and a former president of a non-profit veterans’ organization, was largely supported by those who previously backed former state Senator Chris McDaniel (R) in this Senate District.

Hartness has been actively involved in Jones County politics for many years. He also earned the moniker of “The Flag Man” for being featured in news photos carrying a U.S. Flag as he raised money for veterans.

Senate District 45 – Johnny DuPree (D)

The former Hattiesburg mayor resoundingly won in the new Senate District drawn in the Pine Belt area to increase majority-minority districts. DuPree pulled in nearly 70 percent of the vote, sending him to Jackson to serve in the state Senate.

DuPree has a long history in Mississippi politics. He began his public service on the Hattiesburg Public School Board in 1987 and was elected to the Forrest County Board of Supervisors in 1991 before winning the race for Hattiesburg mayor in 2001. He served as Mayor of the Hub City for four terms, losing his bid for a fifth term to current Mayor Toby Barker, a Republican legislator who ran as an Independent for the mayor’s office.

DuPree ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 2011, losing to Republican Phil Bryant in the General Election. He later unsuccessfully ran for two other posts, Secretary of State in 2019 and Congress in the 4th District in 2022.

House District 22 – Justin Crosby (D)

Crosby was able to narrowly defeat incumbent Republican State Rep. Jon Lancaster in the redrawn House District, winning nearly 53 percent of the vote. Notably, Lancaster flipped to the GOP side of the aisle in 2021 after winning the House seat in 2019.

Crosby, like the other Democrats in these redistricting special elections, were backed by national and state party Democratic organizations, as well as Congressman Thompson.

Crosby was born and raised in Aberdeen. He is an operations leader at Higher Level Logistics and touts himself as an entrepreneur, business and community leader, and philanthropist.

House District 26 – Otha Williams

Williams avoided a runoff in the three-person non-partisan special election, winning 52 percent of the vote. He will serve out the remainder of the term left by Orlando Pace (D) who resigned after winning the election to become Mayor of Clarksdale this summer.

Williams is a work-based learning coordinator and instructor at Coahoma Community College. He has worked at the school for over 26 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

While the race was non-partisan, it is projected that he will caucus with House Democrats.

Seats still up for grabs

Two other Mississippi Senate seats remain to be filled – Senate District 24 and Senate District 26. These races featured fields with multiple candidates running for the open seats. Runoff elections would be held on December 2.

Like House District 26, these races are non-partisan as they are special elections to fill unexpired terms left by retiring Senator David Jordan (D) and now Jackson Mayor John Horhn (D). However, the candidates remaining in the two races are predicted to caucus with Senate Democrats.

Senate District 24

Voters in Senate District 24 will choose between Curressia Brown and Jason Colquett in the runoff election. Brown led the six-person field with 24 percent while Colquett was second with 20 percent.

Curressia Brown

Brown is a native of Meridian and has been a resident of the Mississippi Delta for 29 years. She retired from Mississippi Valley State University as the chair of the Department of Business. She worked at MVSU for 24 years and a total of over 30 years in education.

Brown was the Leflore County delegate to the Mississippi Democratic Party 2nd Congressional District and State Conventions.

Jason Colquett

Colquett has served as the Mayor of the Delta Town of Schlater for seven terms. He was also among the founding members of the Schlater Volunteer Fire Department in Leflore County.

Along with his public service, Colquett has worked full time at Crossroads Gin Co. since 1987.

Senate District 26

Kamesha Mumford won 39 percent of the vote and Letitia Johnson drew 28 percent in the seven-person race for the Senate District 26 seat. The two will meet in the runoff election.

Kamesha Mumford

Mumford has served as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Canton since 2013. She is the President of the Mississippi Municipal Judges Association and founding partner of Mumford & Mumford Law Firm and co-founder of Mumford Title, LLC.

Mumford’s husband is Hinds County Prosecuting Attorney Gerald Mumford.

Letitia Johnson

Johnson, an attorney, is a previous member and president of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees.

Congressman Thompson endorsed Johnson’s campaign.