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Mississippi Supreme Court elections, 2016
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Presidential • U.S. House • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Candidate ballot access |
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| 2016 State Judicial Elections |
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| Part 1: Overview |
| Part 2: Supreme Courts |
| Part 3: Partisanship |
| Part 4: Changes in 2016 |
Four seats on the Mississippi Supreme Court were on the general election ballot on November 8, 2016. These seats were held by Justice Dawn Beam, Justice Ann Lamar, Justice Jim Kitchens, and Justice James Maxwell heading into the election. Justice Ann Lamar announced her retirement and did not run for re-election; each of the other incumbents filed to stand for re-election.[1] Four candidates vied for Justice Lamar's seat.
In the race for Justice Lamar's seat, none of the four candidates received over 50 percent of the vote on November 8. Candidates John Brady and Robert Chamberlin were the top two finishers and faced each other in a runoff election on November 29. Chamberlin defeated Brady for the seat.
Each justice elected to the court serves an eight-year term.
Mississippi holds no primary election for judicial candidates.
Candidates
District 1, Place 3■ Jim Kitchens District 2, Place 2■ Dawn Beam |
District 3, Place 1■ John Brady District 3, Place 2■ James D. Maxwell |
Election results
November 29 runoff election
| Mississippi Supreme Court, District 3, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Robert Chamberlin |
54.59% | 19,974 |
| John Brady | 45.41% | 16,612 |
| Total Votes (588 of 619 reporting: 95%) | 36,586 | |
| Source: WAPT News/Associated Press | ||
November 8 general election
| Mississippi Supreme Court, District 1, Place 3, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jim Kitchens Incumbent |
53.54% | 185,169 |
| T. Kenneth Griffis | 46.46% | 160,661 |
| Total Votes (553 of 553 precincts reporting: 100%) | 345,830 | |
| Source: The New York Times | ||
| Mississippi Supreme Court, District 2, Place 2, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dawn Beam Incumbent |
67.32% | 216,809 |
| Michael Shareef | 32.68% | 105,266 |
| Total Votes (634 of 641 precincts reporting: 99%) | 322,075 | |
| Source: The New York Times | ||
| Mississippi Supreme Court, District 3, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Robert Chamberlin |
31.17% | 103,133 |
| John Brady |
29.15% | 96,452 |
| James T. Kitchens | 24.58% | 81,313 |
| Steve Crampton | 15.10% | 49,947 |
| Total Votes (617 of 617 precincts reporting: 100%) | 330,845 | |
| Source: The New York Times | ||
| Mississippi Supreme Court, District 3, Place 2, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| James D. Maxwell Incumbent | ||
| Source: The New York Times | ||
Political composition
Mississippi's supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. Vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment; the appointed justices must then stand for election in the next election.
District 1
Chief Justice William Waller
Justice Jim Kitchens
Justice Leslie King
District 2
Justice Jess Dickinson
Justice Dawn Beam
Justice Mike Randolph
District 3
Justice Jimmy Maxwell
Justice Ann Lamar
Justice Josiah Coleman
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Mississippi
Nonpartisan elections are staggered so that not all positions are up for election at once, and the nine justices serve eight-year terms. Mississippi holds no primary elections for justices. The court consists of one chief justice, two presiding justices, and six associate justices. Three judges represent each district, with a total of three geographical justices.[2][3]
If a vacancy occurs, the governor of the state may appoint a justice. The appointed justice serves the remainder of the term, then must stand in the next election to retain the seat.[4]
Qualifications
According to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, Article VI, §150, "a qualified candidate for the Supreme Court must be a practicing attorney, at least 30 years of age, and a citizen of the state for five years preceding the day of election."[5] The fee for party candidates is $200, made payable to the appropriate state party executive committee.[5]
Chief justice
Under state law, the chief justice and two presiding judges are chosen by seniority.[6]
State profile
| 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. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
Mississippi voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in Mississippi, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.[7]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Mississippi had two Retained Pivot Counties, 1.10 of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Mississippi coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Mississippi
- United States congressional delegations from Mississippi
- Public policy in Mississippi
- Endorsers in Mississippi
- Mississippi fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Mississippi court elections' OR 'Mississippi Supreme Court' OR 'Mississippi judicial election 2016'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Secretary of State of Mississippi, "2016 Candidate List," accessed May 10, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedabout - ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Mississippi," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ Mississippi Code, "§ 9-1-103. Vacancy in office," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Secretary of State, "Qualifications and Fees for Mississippi Candidates," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ Mississippi Code, "§ 9-3-11. The chief justice; presiding justices," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Mississippi, Southern District of Mississippi
State courts:
Mississippi Supreme Court • Mississippi Court of Appeals • Mississippi circuit courts • Mississippi Chancery Court • Mississippi county courts • Mississippi justice courts • Mississippi youth courts • Mississippi Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Mississippi • Mississippi judicial elections • Judicial selection in Mississippi
