Mississippi's 1st Congressional District election, 2026

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Mississippi's 1st Congressional District
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 26, 2025
Primary: March 10, 2026 Primary runoff: April 7, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Mississippi
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Mississippi's 1st Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th Mississippi elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

All U.S. House districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Mississippi, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Mississippi District 1

Incumbent Trent Kelly, Kelvin Buck, Montravius Hall, and Cliff Johnson are running in the general election for U.S. House Mississippi District 1 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Trent Kelly (R)
		Kelvin Buck (D)
		Montravius Hall (D)
		Cliff Johnson (D)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Cliff Johnson

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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Working People Matter! Too many people in North Mississippi are struggling to make ends meet, and politicians aren't doing enough to make things easier. While wages remain flat, prices for everything from groceries to housing to health care are soaring. To make things worse, the Trump Administration and politicians who support it are focused on giving tax cuts to the super-rich and making sure corporations continue to enjoy record profits. As a civil rights lawyer who has practiced law in Mississippi for 33 years, I have ended debtors' prisons across Mississippi, successfully fought to make sure poor defendants have access to counsel, and consistently stood up for the most vulnerable when they are under attack. I fight bullies!

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Democracy Matters! The Trump Administration's assault on America's institutions must be stopped. The politicization of our military, assault on our judiciary, and dismantling of government agencies destabilize our country and make us less safe and less secure. Federal employees at places like the VA aren't villains. Our government relies on the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances that has been eroded by those now in power. As a law professor who understands what our Constitution demands, I am committed to the fight for a political system that considers all voices and does not concentrate power in one person or one branch of government. America will remain great only if we address threats to our freedom.

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Independence Matters! I'm a lifelong Democrat, but I'm dedicated to Mississippians - not to a political party. We have to elect candidates who understand the challenges faced by those who elect them and know how to fight to protect local voters. I'm committed to the idea that we don't have to agree on everything in order to agree on the most important things - giving everyone a fair shot in life, protecting our freedoms, respecting the views of others, and supporting the most vulnerable in our communities. I love Mississippi, and I believe we can do better. But that won't happen unless we have leaders we trust to have our backs and move forward united rather than divided. People are tired of the constant fights.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Mississippi

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Cliff Johnson (D)

Working People Matter! Too many people in North Mississippi are struggling to make ends meet, and politicians aren't doing enough to make things easier. While wages remain flat, prices for everything from groceries to housing to health care are soaring. To make things worse, the Trump Administration and politicians who support it are focused on giving tax cuts to the super-rich and making sure corporations continue to enjoy record profits. As a civil rights lawyer who has practiced law in Mississippi for 33 years, I have ended debtors' prisons across Mississippi, successfully fought to make sure poor defendants have access to counsel, and consistently stood up for the most vulnerable when they are under attack. I fight bullies!

Democracy Matters! The Trump Administration's assault on America's institutions must be stopped. The politicization of our military, assault on our judiciary, and dismantling of government agencies destabilize our country and make us less safe and less secure. Federal employees at places like the VA aren't villains. Our government relies on the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances that has been eroded by those now in power. As a law professor who understands what our Constitution demands, I am committed to the fight for a political system that considers all voices and does not concentrate power in one person or one branch of government. America will remain great only if we address threats to our freedom.

Independence Matters! I'm a lifelong Democrat, but I'm dedicated to Mississippians - not to a political party. We have to elect candidates who understand the challenges faced by those who elect them and know how to fight to protect local voters. I'm committed to the idea that we don't have to agree on everything in order to agree on the most important things - giving everyone a fair shot in life, protecting our freedoms, respecting the views of others, and supporting the most vulnerable in our communities. I love Mississippi, and I believe we can do better. But that won't happen unless we have leaders we trust to have our backs and move forward united rather than divided. People are tired of the constant fights.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Cliff Johnson (D)

ECONOMIC POLICY - out-of-control prices and stagnant wages are devastating working Mississippians. People are working harder than ever, but they still can't make ends meet. Groceries, housing, childcare, health care, and utilities, to name a few, leave families with no room to breathe. HEALTH CARE POLICY - more individuals are driven into bankruptcy as a result of health care bills than any other debt. Insurance is unaffordable for too many, and tens of thousands of Mississippians who have insurance through Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act are about to lose coverage. EDUCATION - high quality local public schools are key to personal success and community economic development. Our schools lack the support they need to thrive.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

• Montravius Hall
• Trent Kelly

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Trent Kelly	Republican Party	$467,920	$399,621	$677,157	As of September 30, 2025
Kelvin Buck	Democratic Party	$8,500	$0	$8,500	As of September 30, 2025
Montravius Hall	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Cliff Johnson	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Mississippi's 1st Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	12/9/2025	12/2/2025	11/25/2025	11/18/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Mississippi in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Mississippi, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Mississippi	U.S. House	Democratic	N/A	$500	12/26/2025	Source
Mississippi	U.S. House	Republican	N/A	$2500	12/26/2025	Source
Mississippi	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	$200	500	12/26/2025	Source

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

District analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

See also

Mississippi	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
Mississippi congressional delegation Voting in Mississippi Mississippi elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[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

Mike Ezell (R)

Republican Party (5)

Democratic Party (1)

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Super PACs/Organizations

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