Mississippi Supreme Court elections, 2024

2024 State Judicial Elections
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The seats of four Mississippi Supreme Court justices were up for election on November 5, 2024. One of the four seats went to a runoff election on November 26, 2024. The other three were decided in the November 5 general election. Judicial elections in Mississippi were officially nonpartisan.

In the runoff election, Jennifer Branning defeated incumbent justice Jim Kitchens 50.6% to 49.4%.

Bolts Magazine's Caleb Bedillion and Daja E. Henry wrote before the election that an "overall shift in power on the court depends on the outcome of [the] runoff election." The court had nine members. While conservatives still would have had a majority on the court, the outcome of the election could have reshaped the court's ideological makeup to a less conservative court, or leave the court's conservative majority largely intact.

Justice Jim Kitchens faced state Sen. Jenifer B. Branning in the runoff election. In the November 5 election, Branning finished first with 41.7% of the vote to Kitchens’ 35.5%. Three other candidates split the remaining 22.7% of the vote. Because no candidate received 50% of the vote, the election went to a runoff.

Kitchens had served on the court since 2009, after being elected. According to Mississippi Today's Taylor Vance before the election, "Kitchens is one of two centrist members of the high court and is widely viewed as the preferred candidate of Democrats, though the Democratic Party has not endorsed his candidacy." Kitchens campaigned on his experience and said voters should choose someone "who knows the courtroom from experience rather than just theory." The Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund endorsed Kitchens.

Branning campaigned as a more conservative justice and wrote in a Facebook post, "There’s a clear choice in this Runoff because I’m the only candidate who will bring new energy and Constitutional conservative leadership to the Mississippi Supreme Court." Branning also said, "I’m the only candidate with legal and legislative experience...I’m a wife and a mother and running to bring a new generation of constitutional conservative leadership to the people of Mississippi on the Supreme Court." The state Republican Party endorsed Branning.

Four justices ran for re-election, two with opposition and two without opposition. Justices Robert P. Chamberlin and Jimmy Maxwell ran unopposed. Justice Dawn H. Beam ran for re-election but was defeated by David Sullivan.

As of November 2024, a Republican governor appointed six judges to the court, and three judges were initially selected in a nonpartisan election.

To read more about state supreme court elections that occurred in 2024, click here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Mississippi

Election information in Mississippi: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 7, 2024
• By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 7, 2024
• Online: N/A

Was 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 was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
• By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

No

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to N/A

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

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

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

Candidates and results

District 1-Position 3

General runoff election

General runoff election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 1 Position 3

Jenifer Branning defeated incumbent Jim Kitchens in the general runoff election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 1 Position 3 on November 26, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jenifer Branning (Nonpartisan)	50.6	64,087
		Jim Kitchens (Nonpartisan)	49.4	62,685

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 126,772
= 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.
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General election

General election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 1 Position 3

Jenifer Branning and incumbent Jim Kitchens advanced to a runoff. They defeated Ceola James, Byron Carter, and Abby Robinson in the general election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 1 Position 3 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jenifer Branning (Nonpartisan)	41.3	147,892
✔		Jim Kitchens (Nonpartisan)	35.6	127,266
		Ceola James (Nonpartisan)	10.7	38,345
		Byron Carter (Nonpartisan)	7.1	25,390
	Submit photo	Abby Robinson (Nonpartisan)	5.3	18,824

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 357,717
= 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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District 2-Position 2

General election

General election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 2 Position 2

David Sullivan defeated incumbent Dawn H. Beam in the general election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 2 Position 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Sullivan (Nonpartisan)	54.6	206,216
		Dawn H. Beam (Nonpartisan)	45.4	171,625

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 377,841
= 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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District 3-Position 1

General election

General election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 3 Position 1

Incumbent Robert P. Chamberlin won election in the general election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 3 Position 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert P. Chamberlin (Nonpartisan)	100.0	341,895

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 341,895
= 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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District 3-Position 2

General election

General election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 3 Position 2

Incumbent Jimmy Maxwell won election in the general election for Mississippi Supreme Court District 3 Position 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jimmy Maxwell (Nonpartisan)	100.0	339,411

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 339,411
= 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 comparison

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.

Jim Kitchens

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: 

• Mississippi Supreme Court (Assumed office: 2009)

Biography:  Kitchens graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1964 and received his juris doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1967. He worked as an attorney and served as district attorney for four Mississippi counties.

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Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

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Kitchens highlighted his experience as a judge saying, "I had been an active, practicing Mississippi attorney for more than 40 years before I asked the people to allow me to serve on their state’s highest court. No other candidate can come close to my solid record of legal experience."

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Kitchens said he had tried to be a nonpartisan justice. He said "[S]ince I’ve been on the court, I’ve worked very hard not to be conservative and not to be liberal – not to be anything other than someone who follows the law."

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Kitchens said he had upheld his oath of fairness and his website said he had: "diligently applied his legal expertise to uphold the principles of justice and fairness."

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Show sources

Sources: The Marshall Project, "Mississippi Court Candidates Tell You Why They Should Be Elected" September 24, 2024; SuperTalk FM, "Supreme Court runoff showcases differing constitutional perspective of candidates," November 21, 2024; Jim Kitchens campaign website 2024, "Justice Kitchens," accessed December 11, 2024; Mississippi Supreme Court, "Presiding Justice James W. Kitchens," accessed November 24, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mississippi Supreme Court District 1 Position 3 in 2024.

Jenifer Branning

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

• Mississippi State Senate District 18 (Assumed office: 2016)

Biography:  Branning received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Mississippi State University and earned her juris doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law in 2004. She worked as an attorney.

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Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

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Branning said as a justice, she would focus on enforcing the law as written. She said, "Mississippians need and deserve a justice who will uphold the Constitution, not legislate from the bench...I'm running as a justice that will call balls and strikes and not rewrite the rules of the game."

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Branning said she would be "the only candidate who will bring new energy and constitutional conservative leadership to the Mississippi Supreme Court."

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Branning campaigned on her personal background and said: "I believe, as a wife and a mother, I bring diversity of experiences to the table [and] will serve the people well in the Mississippi Supreme Court."

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Show sources

Sources: Mississippi Public Broadcasting, "Kitchens v. Branning: Inside a political and expensive race for Mississippi Supreme Court," November 2, 2024; WLBT, "Mississippi Supreme Court race getting more attention as election day draws closer," November 1, 2024; Mississippi State Senate, "Jenifer Branning," accessed November 24, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Mississippi Supreme Court District 1 Position 3 in 2024.

Ballotpedia Candidate Connection

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign ads

Jim Kitchens

View more ads here:

• Facebook

Jennifer Branning

October 4, 2024

View more ads here:

• Youtube

Election spending

Campaign finance

Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Mississippi Secretary of State.

Click here to access those reports.

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
• Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
• State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
• Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

• Presidential elections
• Statewide elections
• State partisanship
• Demographics

See also: Presidential voting trends in Mississippi and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Mississippi, 2024
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Mississippi's 1st	Trent Kelly	Republican	R+18
Mississippi's 2nd	Bennie Thompson	Democratic	D+11
Mississippi's 3rd	Michael Guest	Republican	R+15
Mississippi's 4th	Mike Ezell	Republican	R+22

2020 presidential results by 2024 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2024 district lines, Mississippi
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Mississippi's 1st	33.4%	65.1%
Mississippi's 2nd	62.5%	36.4%
Mississippi's 3rd	37.2%	61.5%
Mississippi's 4th	30.3%	68.2%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 71.6% of Mississippians lived in one of the state's 51 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 25.0% lived in one of 27 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Mississippi was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Mississippi following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Mississippi county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Republican	51	71.6%
Solid Democratic	27	25.0%
Trending Republican	3	2.0%
Battleground Democratic	1	1.5%
Total voted Democratic	28	26.5%
Total voted Republican	54	73.5%

Historical voting trends

Mississippi presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 16 Democratic wins
• 13 Republican wins
• 2 other wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	SR	D	D	D	R	AI	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Mississippi

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Mississippi.

U.S. Senate election results in Mississippi
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	54.1%	44.1%
2018	53.6%	46.4%
2018	58.5%	39.5%
2014	59.9%	37.9%
2012	57.2%	40.6%
Average	56.7	41.7

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Mississippi

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Mississippi.

Gubernatorial election results in Mississippi
Race	Winner	Runner up
2023	50.9%	47.7%
2019	51.9%	46.9%
2015	66.4%	32.4%
2011	61.0%	39.0%
2007	57.9%	42.1%
Average	58.0	41.2

See also: Party control of Mississippi state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Mississippi's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

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 May 2024.

State executive officials in Mississippi, April 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Tate Reeves
Lieutenant Governor	Delbert Hosemann
Secretary of State	Michael D. Watson Jr.
Attorney General	Lynn Fitch

State legislature

Mississippi State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	16
	Republican Party	36
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		52

Mississippi House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	41
	Republican Party	79
	Independent	2
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		122

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Mississippi Party Control: 1992-2024
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Thirteen 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
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
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	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

The table below details demographic data in Mississippi and compares it to the broader United States as of 2022.

Demographic Data for Mississippi
	Mississippi	United States
Population	2,961,279	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	46,924	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	56.9%	65.9%
Black/African American	37.2%	12.5%
Asian	1%	5.8%
Native American	0.4%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.2%
Other (single race)	1.4%	6%
Multiple	2.9%	8.8%
Hispanic/Latino	3.3%	18.7%
Education
High school graduation rate	86.2%	89.1%
College graduation rate	23.9%	34.3%
Income
Median household income	$52,985	$75,149
Persons below poverty level	14.4%	8.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022).
**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.

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, 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.

Political composition

This was the political composition of the court heading into the 2024 election.

■ Dawn H. Beam		Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) in 2015
■ Robert Chamberlin		Elected in 2016
■ Josiah Coleman		Elected in 2012
■ T. Kenneth Griffis		Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) in 2019
■ David Ishee		Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) in 2017
■ Leslie King		Appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour (R) in 2011
■ Jim Kitchens		Elected in 2008
■ Jimmy Maxwell		Appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant (R) in 2015
■ Mike Randolph		Elected in 2004

Selection

See also: Judicial selection in Mississippi

Each of the nine justices on the Mississippi Supreme Court serves terms of eight years. In the case of a vacancy, a temporary judge 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. The winner of the election will serve the remainder of the term.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• a qualified elector for and from the district in which election is sought;
• a minimum of 30 years old;
• a practicing attorney; and
• a state citizen for at least five years.

2024 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This was a battleground election. Other 2024 battleground elections included:

• Connecticut's 5th Congressional District election, 2024
• New York's 1st Congressional District election, 2024
• Texas' 28th Congressional District election, 2024

See also

Mississippi	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Mississippi Mississippi Court of Appeals Mississippi Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Mississippi	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Mississippi Supreme Court

Footnotes

Mississippi courts

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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

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