It’s the 12 Days of Ballotpedia! Your gift powers the trusted, unbiased information voters need heading into 2026. Donate now!
Mississippi Supreme Court elections, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 8 (in-person); Oct. 9 (postmark by mail)
- Early voting: N/A
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 3
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
| 2018 election dates | |
|---|---|
| Deadline to file candidacy | |
| May 11, 2018 | |
| General election | |
| November 6, 2018 | |
| 2018 State Judicial Elections | |
|---|---|
2019 »
« 2017
| |
 | |
| Overview | |
| Supreme Courts Overview | |
| Appellate Courts Overview | |
| View judicial elections by state: | |
The term of one Mississippi Supreme Court justice expired on January 6, 2019. Justice David Ishee was appointed by Republican Governor Phil Bryant in 2017 to replace former Justice Jess Dickinson. Ishee had to stand for nonpartisan election by voters in 2018 in order to remain on the bench.
Candidates and results
Ishee's seat
General election
General election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 2 Position 1
Incumbent David Ishee won election in the general election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 2 Position 1 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Ishee (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 251,772 |
| Total votes: 251,772 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
About the Mississippi Supreme Court
- See also: Mississippi Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It has nine justices who are elected from three judicial districts in the state to eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections. The court building is located in downtown Jackson, Miss., the state capital. The court hears appeals from decisions of the chancery, circuit and county courts, as well as from the Mississippi Court of Appeals.[1]
Political composition
| ■ William Waller | Elected in 1996 | |
| ■ David Ishee | Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) in 2017 | |
| ■ Mike Randolph | Elected in 2004 | |
| ■ Jim Kitchens | Elected in 2008 | |
| ■ Leslie King | Appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour (R) in 2011 | |
| ■ Robert Chamberlin | Elected in 2016 | |
| ■ Jimmy Maxwell | Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) in 2015 | |
| ■ Dawn H. Beam | Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) in 2015 | |
| ■ Josiah Coleman | Elected in 2012 |
Selection
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
There are nine justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court, each elected to eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections. All candidates must run in the general election (as Mississippi holds no primary for judicial candidates) and must face re-election if they wish to serve again.[2] If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, a temporary justice is named by the governor. Appointees serve out the remainder of their predecessor's unexpired term if four or fewer years of the term remain. If there are more than four years remaining, the appointee will run in the next general election, taking place nine months or more after the vacancy occurs, and then serve the remainder of the term.[2]
Unlike most states, supreme court justices in Mississippi are elected to represent specific districts. The nine justices are divided among three supreme court districts (not to be confused with the 22 divisions of the circuit courts) and are voted into office by the residents of their respective regions.[3] Only the states of Illinois, Kentucky and Louisiana use a similar system.
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a justice must be:
- a practicing attorney for at least five yrs;
- a minimum of 30 years old;
- a state citizen for at least five yrs.[2]
Selection of the chief justice
The court's chief justice is selected by seniority. He or she serves until retirement, at which point the justice with the next most judicial experience becomes chief.[2]
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.[4]
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...
Pivot Counties
- 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% | ||||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Mississippi judicial election' OR 'Mississippi court election' OR 'Mississippi election 2018'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ State of Mississippi Judiciary, "About the Courts," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Mississippi," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ State of Mississippi Judiciary, "Supreme Court; Districts," accessed May 14, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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
