- From the U.S. Senate race to judicial races, see what’s on the ballot on Tuesday, November 3 in Mississippi. Get up-to-speed on the candidates asking for your vote and follow links to important Election Day information.
Over the course of the last year, Magnolia Tribune has documented the 2026 midterm election cycle, complete with candidate interviews, reviews of campaign finance reports, political analysis, and other information voters can use to decide who they will cast their ballot for on November 3.
Before you go to the polls on Tuesday, review the information and follow the links below to ensure you are making an informed decision this Election Day.
Voting Information
Polls will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m on November 3.
Any voter in line at 7:00 p.m. is legally entitled to cast a ballot.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office encourages voters to visit the My Election Day portal to receive election information tailored to a specific address, including a sample ballot. Type in your address and click on the populated address to get started.
Voter ID is required when going to the polls on Election Day. Click here to view a list of acceptable photo IDs. Voters who cast an affidavit ballot because they forgot their voter ID must present an acceptable form of photo ID to their Circuit Clerk’s Office by November 10.
It is unlawful to campaign for any candidate within 150 feet of any entrance to a polling place, unless on private property. The polling places should be clear for 30 feet from every entrance of all people except election officials, voters waiting to vote, or authorized poll watchers. Voters are prohibited from taking pictures of their marked ballot.
Problems at the polls observed by state observers or otherwise reported to the Secretary of State’s Elections Division will be referred to the authorities, including the Attorney General’s Office or the appropriate District Attorney’s Office. However, the Secretary of State’s Office has no enforcement authority over election-related issues.
For questions, voters can contact the Elections Division at 1-800-829-6786, email ElectionsAnswers@sos.ms.gov, or visit YallVote.ms.
U.S. Senate
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is being challenged by Democrat nominee Scott Colom and Independent candidate Ty Pinkins.
Learn more about the candidates from their interviews with Magnolia Tribune by following the links below:
Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)
With President Trump in her corner, Senator Hyde-Smith doesn’t pull punches as she seeks re-election
Scott Colom (D)
There will be no runoff in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race should a candidate fail to reach the 50% +1 vote threshold. All that is required by state law in federal general elections for a candidate to win is a plurality, or receiving more than any of the other candidates, even if they don’t reach 50%.
That has happened before in Mississippi. In 1978, Republican Thad Cochran won his first term to the U.S. Senate over Democrat Maurice Dantin and Independent Charles Evers. Cochran won 45.3% to Dantin’s 31.8% and Evers’ 22.6%. Cochran went on to become Mississippi’s first Republican U.S. Senator since Reconstruction and would serve until 2018.
READ MORE: If Republicans stay home Tuesday, Mississippi’s Senate race could get interesting
1st Congressional District
Mississippi’s 1st District Congressman Trent Kelly (R) has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since winning a special election in 2015.
He is seeking re-election this fall, running against Democrat nominee Cliff Johnson, an Ole Miss law professor, and Libertarian Johnny Baucom, a health and safety technician. Both challengers are hoping to unseat the incumbent in the November midterm General Election.
The incumbent Congressman has a healthy campaign war chest and leads the pack in cash on hand down the stretch. However, first-time candidate Johnson has outraised Kelly two out of three quarters since entering the race.
Read about the 1st District race and learn more about the candidates at the link below.
READ MORE: Johnson, Baucom hope to unseat heavily favored incumbent Kelly in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District
2nd Congressional District
Mississippi’s 2nd District Congressman Bennie Thompson (D) is running for his 18th term in the U.S. House of Representatives after first being elected in a special election in 1993.
Republican nominee Ron Eller and independent Bennie Foster are hoping to unseat the 78-year-old incumbent in the November midterm General Election.
Thompson earned national attention by chairing former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House Select Committee that investigated the events surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, while establishing himself as a vocal critic of President Donald Trump (R).
Eller, 65, is a physician assistant who previously ran for the seat in 2022 and was the Republican nominee in 2024 while Foster, 58, is a Jackson-based businessman who is a newcomer to seeking political office.
See more on this race and the 2nd District candidates at the link below.
READ MORE: Eller, Foster work to unseat odds-on favorite Thompson in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District
3rd Congressional District
Mississippi’s 3rd District Congressman Michael Guest (R) is seeking a fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives this year after first being elected in 2018.
Guest is the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, chairman of the Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee of the Committee on Homeland Security, and serves on the House Appropriations Committee.
He is being challenged by Democrat nominee Michael Chiaradio, a former independent professional baseball league player turned regenerative farmer, and Libertarian nominee Erik Kiehle, a businessman.
Follow the link below to read more about the 3rd District race.
READ MORE: Guest heavily favored to win re-election in Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District over Democrat, Libertarian challengers
4th Congressional District
Mississippi’s 4th District Congressman Mike Ezell (R) is running for his 3rd term to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ezell defeated newcomer Sawyer Walters in the GOP Primary in March, pulling in 84% of the vote.
On the Democrat side, State Rep. Jeffrey Hulum III of Gulfport defeated two others in the party primary in March, winning 58% of the vote.
Ezell and Hulum are joined on the ballot by independent candidate Carl Boyanton, a self-described “conservative” veteran and business owner, who has run unsuccessfully for the 4th District seat every two years since 2020.
Learn more about these candidates and the 4th District race at the link below.
READ MORE: Ezell the odds-on favorite to win re-election in Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District over Hulum, Boyanton
State House Special Elections
Voters in two state House Districts will choose who will represent them for the next year on Tuesday, November 3.
The special elections will fill seats formerly held by the late State Rep. Price Wallace (R) and the late State Rep. William “Bo” Brown (D), both of whom died less than a week apart.
Special elections are non-partisan.
See who will be on the ballot to fill the unexpired terms and serve out the remaining year in the term by following the link below.
READ MORE: Special elections to be held Tuesday in Mississippi House Districts 70 and 77
Judicial Elections
Much has been made about Mississippi’s federal midterm elections for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Yet, when voters go to the polls on November 3, they will also be asked to elect judges in the Magnolia State’s Chancery and Circuit Court districts as well as seats on the Court of Appeals.
Many of the judicial seats up for grabs feature a single candidate running unopposed in the non-partisan elections. This is not uncommon as judicial races do not typically draw a crowded field.
Of the five Court of Appeals elections, only one is contested, meaning there is more than one candidate on the ballot.
There are 57 Chancery races with 14 contested while there are 63 Circuit races with 11 contested.
For a rundown of the contested judicial races across Mississippi on the ballot this November follow the link below.
READ MORE: Few contested judicial races for Mississippi voters to decide in November
Election Day News and Notes
Stay up-to-speed on Election Day news and notes from Magnolia Tribune here on our website or throughout social media platforms on X and Facebook.
You can also follow Russ Latino, Publisher, on X and Frank Corder, Editor-at-Large, on X for developments and information throughout Election Day and beyond.
