What’s ahead now that Democrats have broken GOP supermajority?

Winners of special elections talk about how court-ordered redistricting will reshape state legislature

The political affiliations of seven candidates who won Mississippi’s November 4 special elections have changed the dynamics of the state legislature, with Democrats breaking the Republican supermajority in the state Senate for the first time in six years. The winners—four Democrats and three Republicans—will assume office in January 2026 with differing priorities for the state’s future.

The four Democratic winners campaigned on priorities including education funding, healthcare access, economic opportunity and eliminating the grocery tax. The three Republican incumbents who won reelection emphasized conservative policies, tax cuts and opposition to Medicaid expansion.

The elections followed a 2023 federal court ruling that found the state’s legislative districts violated the Voting Rights Act, prompting the creation of additional majority-Black districts.

The four Democratic victories represented significant gains in districts affected by court-ordered redistricting and seat vacancies, with three flipping previously Republican-held seats, while three Republican incumbents held their ground in newly drawn districts. The new maps created additional majority-Black districts across the state.

Despite the Democratic gains, Republicans maintain control of both chambers of the 174-member legislature. Democrats will likely hold 18 of 52 Senate seats and 42 of 122 House seats when the legislature convenes in January 2026.

The seven representatives will be sworn into office in January, bringing with them competing visions for the state’s future on issues including Medicaid expansion, education funding, tax policy and diversity initiatives.

House District 26: Otha Williams

Otha Williams won the three-person nonpartisan race for Mississippi House District 26 with 52 percent of the vote, capturing 1,340 votes to succeed former state Rep. Orlando Paden, who left the seat to become mayor of Clarksdale. (Special elections are by law nonpartisan.)

“I am stepping forward to serve because I believe in the promise of our district and the power of strong, steady leadership,” Williams told The Mississippi Independent. “I want to continue the work of our previous representative—who served our community with dedication, integrity and a deep commitment to progress.”

Williams, a learning coordinator at Coahoma Community College, outlined his priorities for the district, which includes parts of Bolivar, Coahoma and Sunflower counties. “Building on that foundation, I will work to protect and expand the gains we’ve made while also pushing for the bold, smart solutions we need to address today’s challenges,” he said. “That means advocating for better schools, more economic opportunities, safer neighborhoods and access to healthcare for every family in our district.”

Williams described his campaign as “about continuity with a purpose—carrying forward what works, while leading with vision and compassion toward what’s next.”

House District 22: Justin Crosby

Justin Crosby, a political newcomer and operations leader at Higher Level Logistics, defeated second-term Republican incumbent Jon Lancaster with 53 percent of the vote, flipping Mississippi House District 22 to Democratic control. The district includes parts of Chickasaw, Clay and Monroe counties.

Crosby attributed his victory in part to voter dissatisfaction with Lancaster’s party switch. “My opponent, Mr. Lancaster, Representative Lancaster in 2020, was a Democrat himself. He won his race with the help of Democrats. And unfortunately, four months in, he found himself needing to make a change of party,” Crosby told The Mississippi Independent. “I think the district, when they learned about that, I think that that was the beginning of what led to what happened.”

The newly-elected representative emphasized his commitment to genuine representation. “We wanted someone who was going to be what they said they were going to be down there,” Crosby said.

Among his top priorities is education reform, driven by personal experience. Crosby noted that his wife has been a teacher for 12 years and he has seen her struggle with education protocols. “I just don’t understand why we have not moved into a true performance-based model,” he said. “Education is the one job that’s going to touch everyone because everyone has to have an education.”

Crosby strongly opposes voucher programs while public schools remain underfunded. “It’s like having a car and you know a car runs best on a full tank of gas. Well, Republicans and the governor, and [other officials] across this country want to give us a car and give us a half a tank of gas,” he said. “But you want us to travel the length of a full tank and just figure it out. Well, now when you enter in vouchers, now you’re wanting to let everyone take out the little gas that you’ve given us in the first place to places that don’t need it.”

Healthcare access is another major Crosby priority. “We are talking about the literal health of everyone,” he said. “We cannot afford to lose even one” rural hospital, he added, warning that closures would create dangerous delays in emergency situations.

To ensure accountability, Crosby plans to launch “the Collective 22,” a community engagement initiative. “We’ve got to get back to understanding what this role is. I am a state representative. It’s my job to represent the district,” he said. “How can I do that if I don’t create spaces and pockets of time to not only just tell them what I want to do, but to ask the district, what should we be doing?”

Senate District 2: Theresa Isom

Theresa Gillespie Isom made history as the first African American senator and first female senator in DeSoto County, winning Mississippi Senate District 2 with 63 percent of the vote over Republican Charlie Hoots. The district includes portions of DeSoto and Tunica counties.

When asked what resonated most with voters, Isom pointed to the importance of representation. “The fact that we needed to get some representation down here in DeSoto County, that we needed someone that was African American that could represent the fourth of the percentage of the population here,” Isom told The Mississippi Independent.

Isom emphasized the importance of constituents having meaningful access to their elected officials. “If we live here, let us have a voice. Let us be represented and let us be able to feel comfortable to go and talk to someone who may have an understanding of what you’re feeling,” she said. “Be able to bring those issues to the forefront.”

A retired nurse administrator with decades of leadership in healthcare and education, Isom identified healthcare and education as her top legislative priorities. “I see myself being able to help because I am in healthcare—that’s my career. I have been a nurse for a long time. I’ve been a director of a nursing school and a nurse administrator at the hospital,” Isom said.

Following her election, Isom clarified her immediate focus when the legislature convenes. “It’s healthcare and education. So, I will be looking at the bills and the resources that they have that are available that can help us in DeSoto County,” she said.

Isom opposes voucher programs and strongly supports public school funding. “With the school choice process that they’re trying to bring forth with the vouchers, then I am for public school funding,” she said. “Many other people in the community, they want the public school funding because we have in DeSoto County good schools.”

Previously serving as chief nursing officer of one of the Methodist hospitals in Memphis and director of a nursing school, Isom brings extensive healthcare expertise to the role. She has emphasized her commitment to Medicaid expansion and protecting rural hospitals in her district.

Reflecting on the significance of breaking the Republican supermajority, Isom expressed optimism about what it means for governance. “It’s gonna allow us, as people in DeSoto County, to have an opportunity to say some things that will help everybody. Not just Democrats, not just Republicans, not just Black or Brown people, or just white people, but everybody that lives in DeSoto and Tunica County. This is going to be fantastic that the supermajority has been erased.”

But Isom pledged to represent all constituents regardless of their political affiliation. “I am someone that works for all of the people. Not just for some other people,” she said. “People know from my previous history that I do stand up, and I will fight, and I will continue to fight until I see that the battle cannot be won.”

Senate District 45: Johnny Dupree

Former Hattiesburg mayor Johnny DuPree secured Mississippi Senate District 45 with 71 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Anna Rush. The district includes parts of Forrest and Lamar counties.

DuPree, who served as Hattiesburg’s first African American mayor for 16 years and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2011, explained his return to public service with a philosophical reflection: “Somebody [who] lost more than me said there’s two important days in your life. One day you’re born, the other day you find out why you were born. What was your purpose? And I believe in my heart and my purpose in life that God’s put my purpose to serve.”

He emphasized the need for immediate action over mere consultation. “I understand that you know I’ve been in it so long enough where people still take my telephone calls, but you know the action behind the telephone call sometimes is not there,” DuPree told The Mississippi Independent. “And I realize that as a public servant official, they not only take your call but there may be some action behind it and that’s what we need—we need action to help our people.”

DuPree sees the state Senate as uniquely positioned for impact. “It’s a smaller group. It’s not 122, it’s 52. So, it’s a smaller group. You can affect change a lot easier with a smaller group than you can a larger group. And now that we don’t have the supermajority, with the opportunity now where they have to hear us, they have to listen at us, and they have to consider the things that are important to us. Before they did not have to. Now, they have to.”

His priorities center on policies that “move the masses,” including increasing minimum wage, reducing the grocery tax to zero, and ensuring public education funding. “We talk about how we want to make Mississippi, you know… what they call a Mississippi miracle, but now that we have a Mississippi miracle and we seem to be doing better on the statewide testing and those kinds of things, now we’re doing better, now they’re talking about taking the money that’s helped us do better and give it to private school,” DuPree said. “We’ll start right back over when where we talked about we didn’t want to be.”

DuPree emphasized that Mississippi’s challenges aren’t partisan but economic. “It’s not partisan. It’s not political. It’s not racial. It’s to have and to have not,” he said, noting that his district’s poverty rate ranges from 19 to 40 percent.

Drawing on his extensive municipal experience—serving on the school board, board of supervisors and as mayor—DuPree stressed the value of local government perspective. “You can’t get any more local than designing policy for kids,” he said. “That’s the main concern of parents and the community, our children.”

Republican winners

Three Republican incumbents--Michael McLendon, Chris Johnson and Kevin Blackwell--successfully defended their seats in the November 4 special elections. Among them, two did not respond to multiple requests for interviews with The Mississippi Independent. Details were gleaned from their campaign platforms, public statements and recent legislative records.

Senate District 1: Michael McLendon

Republican Sen. Michael McLendon of Hernando won reelection to Mississippi Senate District 1 with approximately 72 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Chris Hanna. The district includes parts of DeSoto and Tate counties.

Asked about his legislative accomplishments, McLendon pointed to several measures he supported or sponsored. He authored and passed Senate Bill 2113, which banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Mississippi classrooms. “I’ve never backed down from a fight—and I’m not about to start now,” McLendon told The Mississippi Independent. He also cited work on economic development and education, including what he described as the largest teacher pay raise in state history, tax cuts, and more than $183 million in investment secured for DeSoto County. McLendon said he has also worked to protect the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), which serves teachers, first responders and other public employees.

McLendon’s stated priorities for the 2026 legislative session include immigration enforcement, redistricting, education, law enforcement support and conservative fiscal management. His most prominent proposal is the creation of a Mississippi Immigration Custom Enforcement (MICE) division under the Department of Public Safety, which he argues would reduce state spending on housing undocumented immigrants in county jails. On this, he said, “For a $500,000 investment--and we have $8 million going out every year. Second grade math could tell you we are going to be in the plus. Maybe we can help those who really need it.” He also noted, “People who have done serious jail time, they need to be in federal penitentiary, not Parchman, where we’re overcrowded.”

McLendon said he plans to continue focusing on education, including competitive teacher pay, expanded pre-K access, and career and technical training, as well as public-safety measures such as raising pay for state troopers, investigators and county sheriffs. On fiscal matters, he emphasized conservative budgeting and work on appropriations for agencies such as the Mississippi Development Authority and the Department of Corrections.

Senate District 44: Chris Johnson

Republican Sen. Chris Johnson won Mississippi Senate District 44 with approximately 70 percent of the vote over Democratic challenger Shakita Taylor. The district includes parts of Forrest, Lamar and Perry counties.

Johnson, a small business owner who previously represented District 45, moved to the new district following court-ordered redistricting that would have paired him with fellow Republican Sen. John Polk. Polk chose not to seek reelection, leaving Johnson as the incumbent in the race. Johnson did not respond to three requests for interviews from The Mississippi Independent.

According to the Mississippi Today candidate questionnaire, Johnson stated that his priorities for the 2026 session include continuing his work on conservative policy. He indicated he would focus on anti-abortion legislation, reducing government interference, protecting Second Amendment rights, supporting law enforcement, increasing teacher pay and improving Mississippi’s business climate.

Senate District 19: Kevin Blackwell

Republican Sen. Kevin Blackwell of Southaven secured reelection to Mississippi Senate District 19 with 53 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Dianne Black. The district includes parts of DeSoto County. Like Johnson, he did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Mississippi Independent.

According to Blackwell’s campaign materials, his priorities have included teacher pay raises, securing funding for Interstate 55 expansion, and efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from Mississippi universities.

As Medicaid Committee chairman, Blackwell did not sponsor Medicaid expansion legislation in 2025. He and other lawmakers cited uncertainty about the Trump administration’s approach to Medicaid, noting that the U.S. Senate had not confirmed the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by the time the 2025 legislative session concluded.