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Mississippi's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (March 10 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
Mississippi's 1st Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 26, 2025
Primary: March 10, 2026
Primary runoff: April 7, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
General runoff: December 1, 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

A Democratic Party primary takes place on March 10, 2026, in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 26, 2025
March 10, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election.

In Mississippi, primaries are open, meaning any registered voter may vote in the primary of their choice. State law says: "No person shall vote or attempt to vote in the primary election of one (1) party when he or she has voted on the same date in the primary election of another party."[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Mississippi's 1st Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 1

Kelvin Buck (D), Montravius Hall (D), and Cliff Johnson (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 1 on March 10, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Kelvin Buck
Kelvin Buck
Image of Montravius Hall
Montravius Hall
Image of Cliff Johnson
Cliff Johnson  Candidate Connection

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = 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

Image of Cliff Johnson

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Key Messages

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

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.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Mississippi

Election information in Mississippi: March 10, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Feb. 9, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Feb. 9, 2026
  • Online: N/A

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: N/A
  • By mail: N/A by N/A
  • Online: N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: March 10, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by March 10, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

No

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to N/A

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
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.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_ms_congressional_district_01.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+18. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 18 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Mississippi's 1st the 46th most Republican district nationally.[2]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
31.0%68.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Mississippi, 2024

Mississippi presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 16 Democratic wins
  • 15 Republican wins
  • 2 other wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960[3] 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party D D D D D D D D D D D D SR[4] D D D R AI[5] R D R R R R R R R R R R R R
See also: Party control of Mississippi state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Mississippi's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Mississippi
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 1 1
Republican 2 3 5
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 4 6

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Mississippi's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Mississippi, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Tate Reeves
Lieutenant GovernorRepublican Party Delbert Hosemann
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Michael Watson
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party Lynn Fitch

State legislature

Mississippi State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 14
     Republican Party 36
     Other 0
     Vacancies 2
Total 52

Mississippi House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 39
     Republican Party 79
     Independent 3
     Vacancies 1
Total 122

Trifecta control

Mississippi Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Fourteen 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 23 24 25
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 R R R
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R[6] D D D R R R 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 R R R

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

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LexisNexis, "Miss. Code Ann. § 23–15–575," accessed October 21, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  3. ↑ Although he was not on the ballot, Harry F. Byrd (D) won Mississippi's eight unpledged electoral votes in the 1960 election against Richard Nixon (R) and Democratic Party nominee John F. Kennedy.
  4. ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
  5. ↑ American Independent Party
  6. ↑ Republicans gained a majority in 2007 when two Democratic state senators switched their party affiliation. Democrats regained the majority as a result of the 2007 elections.


Mississippi's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)
Roger Wicker (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Republican Party (5)
Democratic Party (1)


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