Mississippi State Senate District 22
Mississippi State Senate District 22 is represented by Joseph Thomas (D).
As of the 2020 Census, Mississippi state senators represented an average of 56,998 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 57,274 residents.
About the office
Members of the Mississippi State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Mississippi legislators assume office the Tuesday after the first Monday of January.[1]
Qualifications
Section 42 of Article 4 of the Mississippi Constitution states, "No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, who shall not have been a qualified elector of the State four years, and who shall not be an actual resident of the district or territory he may be chosen to represent for two years before his election."[2]
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2025[3] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $23,500/year | House members receive no per diem during session, but are eligible for $40 per day outside of session. Senate per diem information was unavailable. |
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Mississippi State Legislature, a special election is required to fill the vacant seat. The governor must call for an election no later than 30 days after the vacancy happened. After the governor sets the election date, the counties conducting the election must be given at least 60 days' notice before the election. All qualifying deadlines are 50 days before the election.[4]
The governor can choose not to issue a writ of election if the vacancy occurs in the same calendar year as the general election for state officials.[4]
See sources: Mississippi Code Ann. § 23-15-851
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On July 3, 2025, the state filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of part of a May 7, 2025, federal three-judge panel decision that led to redrawn districts and special elections. The state said the appeal would not affect the special elections.[5]
A legal challenge to the state legislative maps had resulted in a three-judge panel ordering the state to add two new majority-Black Senate districts and one new majority-Black House district by the end of the 2025 legislative session.[6] The legislature approved the new maps on March 5, 2025.[7] On April 15, 2025, a three-judge panel ordered the legislature to redraw the Senate district in DeSoto County and gave the State Board of Election Commissioners seven days to submit a new map.[8] The panel approved revised maps from the Mississippi Election Commission on May 7, 2025, and special elections in the affected districts were scheduled for November 4, 2025.[9]
Mississippi enacted new state legislative district boundaries on March 31, 2022, when both legislative chambers approved district maps for the other chamber.[10] Legislative redistricting in Mississippi is done via a joint resolution and did not require Gov. Tate Reeves' (R) approval.[10] Emily Wagster Pettus of the Associated Press wrote that "Republican legislative leaders said the redistricting plans are likely to maintain their party's majority in each chamber."[11] Pettus also wrote that "Senate President Pro Tempore Dean Kirby of Pearl said the Senate redistricting plan keeps the same number of Republican-leaning and Democratic-leaning districts as now."[11]
Redistricting of the state Senate was approved by the Senate on March 29, 2022, by a vote of 45-7, with 31 Republicans and 14 Democrats in favor and five Republicans and two Democrats voting against.[12] The state House approved the Senate's district boundaries on March 31, 2022, by a vote of 68-49. Sixty-two Republicans, three Democrats, and three independents voted in favor and 35 Democrats and 14 Republicans voted against.[13]
New district boundaries for the Mississippi House of Representatives were approved by the House on March 29, 2022, by an 81-38 vote. Seventy-three Republicans, five Democrats, and three independents voted to enact the new map and 36 Democrats and two Republicans voted against it.[14] The Mississippi Senate approved the House map—41 to 8—on March 31, 2022, with 34 Republicans and seven Democrats voting in favor and all eight votes against by Democrats.[15]
How does redistricting in Mississippi work? In Mississippi, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. Congressional district lines are approved as regular legislation and are thus subject to veto by the governor. State legislative district boundaries are approved as a joint resolution; as such, they are not subject to gubernatorial veto.[16]
If the legislature cannot approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a five-member commission must draw the lines. This commission comprises the chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, the attorney general, the secretary of state, and the majority leaders of the Mississippi State Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives.[16]
The Mississippi Constitution requires that state legislative district boundaries be contiguous. State statutes further require that state legislative districts "be compact and cross political boundaries as little as possible."[16]
Mississippi State Senate District 22
before 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Mississippi State Senate District 22
after 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2023
See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2023
General election
General election for Mississippi State Senate District 22
Incumbent Joseph Thomas defeated Chastity Magyar in the general election for Mississippi State Senate District 22 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joseph Thomas (D) | 57.6 | 9,534 | |
| Chastity Magyar (R) | 42.4 | 7,024 | ||
| Total votes: 16,558 | |||
 = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22
Incumbent Joseph Thomas advanced from the Democratic primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22 on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joseph Thomas | 100.0 | 6,165 | |
| Total votes: 6,165 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22
Chastity Magyar advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22 on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Chastity Magyar | 100.0 | 4,106 | |
| Total votes: 4,106 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2019
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2019
Elections for the Mississippi State Senate took place in 2019. The primary was on August 6, 2019, the primary runoff was on August 27, and the general election was on November 5. The filing deadline for candidates was March 1, 2019.
General election
General election for Mississippi State Senate District 22
Joseph Thomas defeated Hayes Dent in the general election for Mississippi State Senate District 22 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joseph Thomas (D) | 52.4 | 10,555 | |
| Hayes Dent (R) | 47.6 | 9,582 | ||
| Total votes: 20,137 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Terrence Edison Jr. (Independent)
- Calvin Stewart (Independent)
Democratic primary runoff election
Democratic primary runoff for Mississippi State Senate District 22
Joseph Thomas defeated Ruffin Smith in the Democratic primary runoff for Mississippi State Senate District 22 on August 27, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joseph Thomas | 60.7 | 3,272 | |
| Ruffin Smith | 39.3 | 2,122 | ||
| Total votes: 5,394 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22
Joseph Thomas and Ruffin Smith advanced to a runoff. They defeated Ermea Russell, Mark Buckner Sr., and Colton Thornton in the Democratic primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joseph Thomas | 32.6 | 2,867 | |
| ✔ | Ruffin Smith | 21.1 | 1,856 | |
 | Ermea Russell | 20.0 | 1,761 | |
| Mark Buckner Sr. | 19.9 | 1,751 | ||
 | Colton Thornton | 6.4 | 563 | |
| Total votes: 8,798 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Vince Roberts (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22
Hayes Dent defeated Dwayne Self in the Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 22 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Hayes Dent | 69.3 | 4,274 | |
| Dwayne Self | 30.7 | 1,891 | ||
| Total votes: 6,165 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2015
Elections for the Mississippi State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on August 4, 2015, and the general election was held on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 27, 2015.[17] Joseph Thomas was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Eugene Clarke was unopposed in the Republican primary. Clarke defeated Thomas in the general election.
| Mississippi State Senate, District 22 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Eugene Clarke Incumbent |
53.8% | 8,149 | |
| Democratic | Joseph Thomas | 46.2% | 6,985 | |
| Total Votes | 15,134 | |||
2011
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2011
Elections for the office of Mississippi State Senate consisted of a primary election on August 2, 2011 and a general election on November 8, 2011. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 1, 2011. Incumbent Eugene Clarke (R) defeated George Hollowell (D) in the general election. Clark was unopposed in the Republican primary. Hollowell defeated Mala Brooks in the Democratic primary.[18]
| Mississippi State Senate, District 22 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Eugene Clarke Incumbent |
53.9% | 7,032 | |
| Democratic | George Hollowell | 46.1% | 6,021 | |
| Total Votes | 13,053 | |||
| Mississippi State Senate, District 22 Democratic Primary, 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| George Hollowell |
51.4% | 4,116 |
| Mala Brooks | 48.6% | 3,898 |
| Total Votes | 8,014 | |
Campaign contributions
From 2003 to 2023, candidates for Mississippi State Senate District 22 raised a total of $635,880. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $35,327 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Mississippi State Senate District 22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2023 | $38,844 | 2 | $19,422 |
| 2019 | $174,511 | 6 | $29,085 |
| 2011 | $258,705 | 3 | $86,235 |
| 2007 | $104,633 | 2 | $52,317 |
| 2003 | $59,188 | 5 | $11,838 |
| Total | $635,880 | 18 | $35,327 |
Noteworthy events
2019
On February 13, 2019, Judge Carlton W. Reeves, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, issued an order striking down the map for Mississippi State Senate District 22, finding that it constituted a violation of the Voting Rights Act by denying racial minorities in the district "an equal opportunity to participate in the political processes and to elect candidates of their choice." In the two-page order, Reeves advised the legislature of its right to the first opportunity to draft new maps for District 22 and any adjoining districts that might be impacted. Reeves also suggested that the legislature might extend the March 1 qualification deadline for candidates in District 22 and any other districts affected by the redistricting process. Reeves was appointed in 2010 by Pres. Barack Obama (2013).[19][20]
Mississippi Republicans appealed this decision and filed an emergency motion for stay of judgment. The appeals court found that the state was not likely to succeed in overturning the district court's judgment. The appeals court also found that the legislature should be granted the opportunity to implement a remedial map. The appeals court stayed the district court's decision until April 3, 2019, and extended the candidate filing deadline for affected districts to April 12, 2019. The legislature enacted a remedial map on March 26, 2019. Opponents of the original map informed the district court that they would not challenge the remedial map. As to the merits of the district court's original judgment, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments on June 11, 2019. On September 2, 2019, the appellate panel issued its ruling, upholding the district court's finding and dismissing the state's appeal as moot.[21][22][23]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Mississippi Constitution, "Article 4, Section 36," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Constitution, "Article 4, Section 42," accessed May 22, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2025 Legislator Compensation," December 2, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Justia US Law, "2020 Mississippi Code," accessed February 6, 2023 (Statute 23-15-851)
- ↑ Magnolia Tribune, "Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court coming to address “very narrow, legal issue” in court-ordered legislative redistricting," July 3, 2025
- ↑ Associated Press, "Mississippi can wait to reset legislative districts that dilute Black voting strength, judges say," July 18, 2024
- ↑ Associated Press, "New Mississippi legislative maps head to court for approval despite DeSoto lawmakers’ objections," March 6, 2025
- ↑ DeSoto Times-Tribune, "Judges order new redistricting map for DeSoto," April 16, 2025
- ↑ Mississippi Today, "Federal court approves Mississippi legislative redistricting. Special elections will proceed," May 9, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Jackson Free Press, "Mississippi House and Senate OK Each Other's Redistricting," April 1, 2022
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Jackson Free Press, "Mississippi House, Senate Pass Separate Redistricting Plans," March 30, 2022
- ↑ ‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 202-History of Actions, 03/29 (S) Adopted," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑ ‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 202-History of Actions, 03/31 (H) Adopted," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑ ‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 1-History of Actions, 03/29 (H) Adopted As Amended," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑ ‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 1-History of Actions, 03/31 (S) Adopted," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 All About Redistricting, "Mississippi," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections Calendar," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2011 election results," accessed November 13, 2013
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "U.S. District Court Strikes Down Mississippi State Senate Boundaries," February 13, 2019
- ↑ United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, "Thomas v. Bryant: Order," February 13, 2019
- ↑ The San Francisco Chronicle, "Mississippi requests new hearing in redistricting lawsuit," April 8, 2019
- ↑ Governing, "In Gerrymandering Case, Mississippi Governor Challenges Order to Redraw Map," April 25, 2019
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, "Thomas v. Bryant: Opinion," September 3, 2019
