Mississippi judicial elections, 2016
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Eight seats on Mississippi's state-level courts were up for election on November 8, 2016, including four seats on the Mississippi Supreme Court and four seats on the Mississippi Court of Appeals. In Mississippi, judges are elected to these seats in nonpartisan elections. Each justice elected to these courts serves an eight-year term.
The four seats up for election on the supreme court 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 declined to run for re-election; each of the other incumbents filed to stand for re-election.[1] Four candidates vied for Justice Lamar's seat.
No candidate for Justice Lamar's seat 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.
The four seats up for election on the Mississippi Court of Appeals were held by Judge Jack Wilson, Judge Ceola James, Judge Jim Greenlee, and Judge David Ishee going into the election. Each incumbent judge filed to stand for re-election.[1] Judge Jack Wilson and challenger Edwin Hannan were the top two finishers for Wilson's seat and advanced to a runoff election on November 29. Wilson defeated Hannan.
Candidates
Supreme Court
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 |
Court of Appeals
District 1, Place 1■ Jim Greenlee District 2, Place 2■ Ceola James (Incumbent) |
District 3, Place 1■ Jack Wilson District 5, Place 2■ David Ishee |
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 | ||
| Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 3, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jack Wilson Incumbent |
57.55% | 15,142 |
| Edwin Hannan | 42.45% | 11,169 |
| Total Votes (375 of 375 reporting: 100%) | 26,311 | |
| Source: WAPT News/Associated Press | ||
November 8 general election
Supreme Court
| 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 | ||
Court of Appeals
| Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 1, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Jim Greenlee Incumbent | ||
| Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 2, Place 2, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Latrice Westbrooks |
57.40% | 84,762 |
| Ceola James Incumbent | 42.60% | 62,914 |
| Total Votes (360 of 360 precincts reporting: 100%) | 147,676 | |
| Source: The New York Times | ||
| Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 3, Place 1, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jack Wilson Incumbent |
49.90% | 109,126 |
| Edwin Hannan |
37.06% | 81,051 |
| Dow Yoder | 13.04% | 28,506 |
| Total Votes (373 of 373 precincts reporting: 100%) | 218,683 | |
| Source: The New York Times | ||
| Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 5, Place 2, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| David Ishee Incumbent | ||
| Source: The New York Times | ||
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Mississippi
Judges in Mississippi participate in nonpartisan elections, except for the justice court judges, who are selected in partisan elections.[2] All judicial elections take place in even-numbered years except for municipal elections, which are staggered to occur in odd years.[3]
Primary election
Mississippi does not hold primary elections for judicial candidates.[4]
General election
Qualified judicial candidates, including unopposed candidates, appear on the general election ballot. There is no indication of party affiliation—and when two or more candidates are competing for a seat, they are listed in alphabetical order.[4]
The winner of the general election is determined by majority vote. If no candidate receives a majority (over 50 percent) of the votes, the top two candidates advance to a runoff election that takes place three weeks later.[4]
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 six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
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.[5]
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Secretary of State of Mississippi, "2016 Candidate List," accessed May 10, 2016
- ↑ State of Mississippi Judiciary, "About the Courts," accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Election Year Chart," accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mississippi Secretary of State, "Mississippi Election Code," accessed May 1, 2014 (Page 617-618)
- ↑ 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
