United States Senate election in Mississippi (June 5, 2018 Democratic primary)

	2020 → ← 2014
U.S. Senate, Mississippi
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 1, 2018
	Primary: June 5, 2018; Primary runoff: June 26, 2018 (if needed); General: November 6, 2018; Pre-election incumbent:; Roger Wicker (Republican)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Mississippi
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
	U.S. Senate, Mississippi; U.S. Senate (regular) • U.S. Senate (special) • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th; Mississippi elections, 2018; U.S. Congress elections, 2018; U.S. Senate elections, 2018; U.S. House elections, 2018; Arizona U.S. Senate raceCalifornia U.S. Senate raceConnecticut U.S. Senate raceDelaware U.S. Senate raceFlorida U.S. Senate raceHawaii U.S. Senate raceIndiana U.S. Senate raceMaine U.S. Senate raceMaryland U.S. Senate raceMassachusetts U.S. Senate raceMichigan U.S. Senate raceMinnesota U.S. Senate raceMinnesota U.S. Senate race (special)Mississippi U.S. Senate raceMississippi U.S. Senate race (special)Missouri U.S. Senate raceMontana U.S. Senate raceNebraska U.S. Senate raceNevada U.S. Senate raceNew Jersey U.S. Senate raceNew Mexico U.S. Senate raceNew York U.S. Senate raceNorth Dakota U.S. Senate raceOhio U.S. Senate racePennsylvania U.S. Senate raceRhode Island U.S. Senate raceTennessee U.S. Senate raceTexas U.S. Senate raceUtah U.S. Senate raceVermont U.S. Senate raceVirginia U.S. Senate raceWashington U.S. Senate raceWest Virginia U.S. Senate raceWisconsin U.S. Senate raceWyoming U.S. Senate raceSubmit

There were two elections for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi in 2018. The first was the regularly scheduled election on November 6, 2018, to fill the state's Class I seat held by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). The Democratic and Republican primaries for that election were June 5, 2018. The second, a nonpartisan special election on November 6, 2018, filled the Class II seat left vacant by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). A runoff in this election was held on November 27, 2018. The winner of the special election served the remainder of Cochran's term until January 3, 2021.

A Democratic Party primary election took place on June 5, 2018, in Mississippi to determine which Democrat would run in the state's November 6, 2018, general election.

One Democrat ran for the seat. This page focuses on the Democratic primary. For an overview of the election in general, click here.

The last Democrat to represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate, John Stennis, retired in 1989, and the state was rated a safe Republican seat by Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections. For this reason, the Democratic primary was not expected to be competitive.

See also: United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2018

Candidates and election results[edit]

See also: Statistics on U.S. Congress candidates, 2018

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Mississippi on June 5, 2018.

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Mississippi

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Howard Sherman	31.8	27,957
✔	David Baria	31.0	27,244
	Omeria Scott	24.2	21,278
	Victor Maurice Jr.	5.0	4,361
	Jerone Garland	4.9	4,266
	Jensen Bohren	3.2	2,825

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 87,931
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Pivot Counties[edit]

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Two of 82 Mississippi counties—2.4 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Chickasaw County, Mississippi	6.06%	4.52%	2.13%
Panola County, Mississippi	0.12%	8.62%	6.52%

State overview[edit]

Partisan control[edit]

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Mississippi heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation[edit]

Following the 2016 elections, Republicans held both U.S. Senate seats in Mississippi.
Republicans held three of four U.S. House seats in Mississippi.

State executives[edit]

As of September 2018, Republicans held eight of 11 state executive positions, with the remaining three held by Democrats.
The governor of Mississippi was Republican Phil Bryant. Bryant won election in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015.

State legislature[edit]

Republicans controlled both chambers of the Mississippi State Legislature. They had a 74-46 majority in the state House and a 33-19 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status[edit]

Mississippi was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party held the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.

2018 elections[edit]

See also: Mississippi elections, 2018

Mississippi held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Both U.S. Senate seats (one regularly-scheduled and one special election)
All four U.S. House seats
One of nine state Supreme Court seats
Five of 10 state Court of Appeals seats

Demographics[edit]

Demographic data for Mississippi
	Mississippi	U.S.
Total population:	2,989,390	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	46,923	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	59.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	37.4%	12.6%
Asian:	1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.4%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	1.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	2.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	82.3%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	20.7%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$39,665	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	27%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Mississippi. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Mississippi's three largest cities were Jackson (pop. est. 170,000), Gulfport (pop. est. 72,000), and Southaven (pop. est. 54,000).^[1]

State election history[edit]

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Mississippi from 2000 to 2016. Data comes from the Mississippi Secretary of State.

Historical elections[edit]

Presidential elections, 2000-2016[edit]

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Mississippi every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Mississippi 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	57.9%	Hillary Clinton	40.1%	17.8%
2012	Mitt Romney	55.3%	Barack Obama	43.8%	11.5%
2008	John McCain	56.2%	Barack Obama	43.0%	13.2%
2004	George W. Bush	59.5%	John Kerry	39.8%	19.7%
2000	George W. Bush	57.6%	Al Gore	40.7%	16.9%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016[edit]

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Mississippi from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the two seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Mississippi 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Thad Cochran	59.9%	Travis Childers	37.9%	22.0%
2012	Roger Wicker	57.2%	Albert Gore	40.6%	16.6%
2008	Thad Cochran	61.4%	Erik Fleming	38.6%	22.8%
2008 (special)	Roger Wicker	55.0%	Ronnie Musgrove	45.0%	10.0%
2006	Trent Lott	63.6%	Erik Fleming	34.9%	28.7%
2002	Thad Cochran	84.6%	Shawn O'Hara	15.4%	69.2%
2000	Trent Lott	65.9%	Troy Brown	31.6%	34.3%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016[edit]

This chart shows the results of the gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Mississippi.

Election results (Governor), Mississippi 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2015	Phil Bryant	66.6%	Robert Gray	32.1%	34.5%
2011	Phil Bryant	61.0%	Johnny DuPree	39.0%	22.0%
2007	Haley Barbour	57.9%	John Eaves	42.1%	15.8%
2003	Haley Barbour	52.6%	Ronnie Musgrove	45.8%	6.8%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016[edit]

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Mississippi in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Mississippi 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	4	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+2
2014	4	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+2
2012	4	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+2
2010	4	75.0%	1	25.0%	R+2
2008	1	25.0%	3	75.0%	D+2
2006	2	50.0%	2	50.0%	Even
2004	2	50.0%	2	50.0%	Even
2002	2	50.0%	2	50.0%	Even
2008	2	40.0%	3	60.0%	D+1

Trifectas, 1992-2017[edit]

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Mississippi Party Control: 1992-2022
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Eleven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Footnotes[edit]

↑ Mississippi Demographics by Cubit, "Mississippi Cities by Population," accessed September 10, 2018

[show]

Mississippi's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)

Roger Wicker (R)

Representatives

District 1

Trent Kelly (R)

District 2

Bennie Thompson (D)

District 3

Michael Guest (R)

District 4

Steven Palazzo (R)

Republican Party (5)

Democratic Party (1)

[1] Mississippi Demographics by Cubit, "Mississippi Cities by Population," accessed September 10, 2018

[1]