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United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2020 (March 10 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: March 10
- Primary type: Open
- Registration deadline(s): Feb. 8
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: N/A
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): March 9 (received)
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2026 →
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| U.S. Senate, Mississippi |
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 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: January 10, 2020 |
| Primary: March 10, 2020 Primary runoff: June 23, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Mississippi |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th Mississippi elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
A Democratic Party primary took place on March 10, 2020, in Mississippi to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the state's general election on November 3, 2020.
Mike Espy advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Mississippi.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
Heading into the election, the incumbent was Cindy Hyde-Smith (Republican), who was first elected in 2018.
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 United States Senate Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2020 (March 10 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Mississippi modified its primary election process as follows:
- Election postponements: The Republican primary runoff election for the state's 2nd Congressional District was postponed from March 31 to June 23.
- Political party events: The Republican Party of Mississippi postponed its state convention, originally scheduled for May 15-16, indefinitely.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Mississippi
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mike Espy | 93.1 | 250,496 |
 | Tobey Bartee | 4.1 | 11,148 | |
 | Jensen Bohren  | 2.7 | 7,345 | |
| Total votes: 268,989 | |||
| = 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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Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[2] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[3] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tobey Bartee | Democratic Party | $0 | $1,276 | $-1,276 | As of December 31, 2019 |
| Jensen Bohren | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Mike Espy | Democratic Party | $12,320,919 | $12,439,497 | $175,593 | As of December 31, 2020 |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[4]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[5][6][7]
| Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Mississippi, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Likely Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | Likely Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2020 (March 10 Republican primary)
- United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2020
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States Senate elections, 2020
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Miss. Code Ann. § 23–15–575," accessed September 3, 2025
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
