Nearly half the Mississippi voters surveyed in a poll state House Speaker Jason White released Tuesday said they oppose the state continuing to recruit data centers. Seventy-two percent said they support restoring the ballot initiative.
Cygnal fielded the survey on Oct. 1-2, 2026, reaching 501 likely general election voters by live phone and text message. The margin of error is 4.38 percentage points. Neither the toplines nor the crosstabs name a client.
The data center question told respondents that Mississippi has recruited several large data center projects by offering tax exemptions in exchange for jobs and investment; that some residents and officials have raised concerns the projects could raise electricity costs; and that supporters cite job creation and local investment. It then asked, “Do you support or oppose the state continuing to recruit data centers to Mississippi?”
Opposition was 47.9 percent and support 28.3 percent. Another 11.9 percent chose neither and 11.8 percent were unsure. Strong opposition was the largest single answer at 32 percent.
The opposition was not confined to one party. Democrats opposed continued recruitment 65 to 14 and independents 55 to 29. Republicans were split, 39 percent in support and 37 percent opposed. Black voters opposed it 55 to 19 and white voters 45 to 33.
The state has been recruiting. Gov. Tate Reeves announced on April 9, 2026, that Amazon would add $12 billion to its Mississippi investments, $11 billion to expand its Madison County operations and $1 billion to retrofit the former Delphi plant in Clinton. The release put Amazon’s total planned investment in the state at $25 billion over two years and said Mississippi Major Economic Impact Authority funds continue to support the work.
The ballot initiative question opened by telling respondents that voters lost the ability to put laws and constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot in 2021 “after the state Supreme Court struck down the process on a technicality,” and that since then voters have had no way to go around the legislature to change state law. Support for restoring the process was 72 percent and opposition 7.9 percent. Just under half the sample, 49.2 percent, said they strongly supported it.
That support crossed party lines. Republicans backed restoring the initiative 78 to 4 and Democrats 66 to 11.
The same voters did not rank it high. Asked which issue matters most to them in the election for the state House, 5.6 percent chose restoring the ballot initiative. Inflation came first at 22.2 percent, then crime and public safety at 19.1 percent, healthcare at 14.7 percent and reducing taxes at 13.5 percent. Redistricting drew 6.1 percent.
Mississippi has had no initiative process since May 14, 2021, when the state Supreme Court held in Butler v. Watson that the signature requirement in Section 273 of the state constitution had become unworkable. The section required that no more than a fifth of the signatures come from any one of five congressional districts, and Mississippi has had four districts since the 2000 census. Measures to restore the process have been introduced in every session since and none have passed.
Seventeen such measures were filed in 2026. Fifteen died in committee on Feb. 3, 2026, among them three identical Senate resolutions to amend Section 273 and reinstate the process: SC 515 by Sen. Joseph M. "Mike" Seymour (R-Vancleave); SC 517 by Sen. Bradford Blackmon (D-Canton); and SC 519 by Sen. Johnny Dupree (D-Hattiesburg). Two got past committee, both filed by Sen. Jeremy England (R-Vancleave). The Senate tabled England’s constitutional amendment, SC 518, on Feb. 11, and his bill bringing forward the initiative code sections, SB 2919, died on the Senate calendar the next day.
On the direction of the state, 45.4 percent said Mississippi is on the wrong track and 42.8 percent said it is headed in the right direction. Another 11.8 percent were unsure. The 2.6-point gap is inside the poll’s margin of error.
Those answers divided by party and by race. Republicans said the state was moving in the right direction 68 to 19 and Democrats said wrong track 80 to 9. Independents said wrong track 54 to 34. White voters said right direction 58 to 30 and Black voters said wrong track 76 to 14.
White’s announcement said top voter concerns include inflation, the cost of living and the need for safe communities, and that the findings support the work of the House Property Tax Select Committee, one of six select committees he named in May.
The survey asked about property taxes four ways. Eliminating the tax on homestead property drew 56.6 percent support and 24.6 percent opposition. Eliminating it for Mississippians 65 and older drew 70.2 percent support and 15.3 percent opposition. Asked how to replace the revenue, 34.6 percent chose local sales taxes and 29.3 percent chose raising the statewide sales tax, which is 7 percent. More than a third, 36.2 percent, were unsure.
Two questions covered school choice. The first described the Magnolia Student Accounts program in House Bill 2, which the House passed in January 2026 and which died in a Senate committee on March 3, and asked whether voters supported it. White said at the time that the Senate had killed it. Support was 41.1 percent and opposition 39.2 percent. A later question opened by saying supporters point to other states with school choice where test scores have risen, then asked about a program like the one described. Support rose to 50.1 percent and opposition fell to 27.1 percent.
Republicans moved most between the two questions, from 51 percent support to 64 percent. Democrats went from 31 to 35.
The sample was 50.4 percent Republican, 31.9 percent Democratic and 12.9 percent independent, and 63.7 percent white and 30.4 percent Black. Asked about the 2024 presidential election, 56.6 percent said they voted for Donald Trump and 34.6 percent for Kamala Harris.
The poll contains no job approval or favorability rating for any officeholder.
The legislature convenes in January.
Image: Jason White (via Mississippi Legislature)
