Mississippi State Senate District 4
Mississippi State Senate District 4 is represented by Rita Potts Parks (R).
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.
Qualifications
In order to run for the Mississippi State Senate, a candidate must:[1]
- Be 25 years of age or older.
- Be a qualified elector of the State of Mississippi for four years.
- Be a resident of the district the candidate plans to represent for two years.
- If running as a Republican or Democrat, pay a $15 filing fee to the State Executive Committee of the party with which the candidate is affiliated.
- If running as an independent, submit 50 signatures to the Circuit Clerk or the Secretary of State.
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[2] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $23,500/year | For senators: $166/day. For representatives: $157/day. |
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.[3]
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.[3]
See sources: Mississippi Code Ann. § 23-15-851
District map
Redistricting
2020-2022
Mississippi enacted new state legislative district boundaries on March 31, 2022, when both legislative chambers approved district maps for the other chamber.[4] Legislative redistricting in Mississippi is done via a joint resolution and did not require Gov. Tate Reeves' (R) approval.[4] 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."[5] 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."[5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10]
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.[10]
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."[10]
Mississippi State Senate District 4
until January 1, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Mississippi State Senate District 4
starting January 2, 2024
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2023
See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2023
General election
General election for Mississippi State Senate District 4
Incumbent Rita Potts Parks defeated Jon Newcomb in the general election for Mississippi State Senate District 4 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rita Potts Parks (R) | 76.7 | 10,436 |
 | Jon Newcomb (Independent) | 23.3 | 3,178 | |
| Total votes: 13,614 | |||
 = 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 4
Incumbent Rita Potts Parks advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 4 on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rita Potts Parks | 100.0 | 11,189 |
| Total votes: 11,189 | |||
| = 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 4
Incumbent Rita Potts Parks won election in the general election for Mississippi State Senate District 4 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rita Potts Parks (R) | 100.0 | 16,200 |
| Total votes: 16,200 | |||
| = 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 4
Incumbent Rita Potts Parks defeated Greg Ward and Lamar Walker in the Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 4 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rita Potts Parks | 59.5 | 7,429 |
| Greg Ward | 35.0 | 4,368 | |
| Lamar Walker | 5.5 | 681 | |
| Total votes: 12,478 | |||
| = 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.[11] Eric Powell was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Rita Parks was unopposed in the Republican primary. Parks defeated Powell in the general election.
| Mississippi State Senate, District 4 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Rita Parks Incumbent |
60.2% | 10,386 | |
| Democratic | Eric Powell | 39.8% | 6,860 | |
| Total Votes | 17,246 | |||
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. Rita Parks (D) defeated Eric Powell (R) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the August 2 primary elections.[12]
| Mississippi State Senate, District 4 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Rita Parks |
50.7% | 9,050 | |
| Democratic | Eric Powell Incumbent | 49.3% | 8,798 | |
| Total Votes | 17,848 | |||
Campaign contributions
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From 2003 to 2023, candidates for Mississippi State Senate District 4 raised a total of $682,310.
Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $45,487 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Mississippi State Senate District 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2023 | $102,350 | 2 | $51,175 |
| 2019 | $150,939 | 3 | $50,313 |
| 2011 | $121,435 | 2 | $60,718 |
| 2007 | $127,240 | 6 | $21,207 |
| 2003 | $180,346 | 2 | $90,173 |
| Total | $682,310 | 15 | $45,487 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Qualifications and Fees for Mississippi Candidates," accessed February 2, 2023
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Justia US Law, "2020 Mississippi Code," accessed February 6, 2023 (Statute 23-15-851)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jackson Free Press, "Mississippi House and Senate OK Each Other's Redistricting," April 1, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 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
