Mississippi

MISSISSIPPI

6 Electoral Votes

Population
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
Total Population, July 2008 est. 2,938,618
Mississippi has: 82 counties
Largest counties: Hinds, Harrison, De Soto, Jackson, Rankin. >
Largest cities: Jackson, Gulfport, Biloxi. >

Government
Governor: Haley Barbour (R) elected Nov. 2003; re-elected in 2007.
State Legislature: Mississippi Legislature   House: 122 seats Senate: 52 seats
Local: Local Governments   NACO Counties
U.S. House: 3D, 1R - 1. T.Childers (D) | 2. B.Thompson (D) | 3. C.Pickering (R) | 4. G.Taylor (D).
U.S. Senate: Thad Cochran (R) up for re-election in 2008, Roger Wicker (R) sworn in Dec. 31, 2007.

2008
update
U.S. Senate: Sen. Roger Wicker (R), appointed by Gov. Barbour in late 2007 following the retirement of Sen. Trent Lott (R), won the Nov. 4 special election, defeating former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) by 683,409 (54.96%) to 560,064 (45.04%). Sen. Thad Cochran (R) easily defeated Erik Fleming (D) by 766,111 (61.44%) to 480,915 (38.56%).
U.S. House: In the 3rd CD, opened by the retirement of Rep. Chip Pickering (R), attorney Gregg Harper (R) defeated cattle market dealer Joel L. Gill (D) by 62.54% to 37.46%. The U.S. House delegation remains at 3D, 1R.

The Magnolia State

State of Mississippi
Secretary of State

Green Party of MS
Libertarian Party of MS
MS Democratic Party
MS Republican Party
Constitution Party of MS

The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson)
Newspapers
TV, Radio

Politics1-MS
MagnoliaReport.com

General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Voting Eligible Population*: 2,114,108.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 61.0%.

Official Results >
+McCain-Palin (Rep.)	724,597	(56.18)
Obama-Biden (DFL)	554,662	(43.00)
Baldwin/Castle (Const.)	2,551	(0.20)
Barr/Root (Lib.)	2,529	(0.20)
McKinney/Clemente (Grn.)	1,034	(0.08)
Nader/Gonzalez (Ind.)	4,011	(0.31)
Weill/McEnulty (Ref.)	481	(0.04)
Total........1,289,865

2008 Overview
McCain-Palin won Mississippi with a plurality of 169,935 votes (13.18 percentage points), carrying 53 counties to 29 for Obama. The highlight of the campaign was the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 in the Ford Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Mississippi in Oxford.
Obama/Allies | McCain/Allies | Nader

Primary Election -- Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Democrats
40 Delegates (33 Pledged and 7 Unpledged) and 6 Alternates.
0.99% of the 4,049 Delegate Votes.

Clinton | Obama

Joe Biden	1,816	0.4%
Hillary Clinton	159,221	36.7%
Chris Dodd	739	0.2%
John Edwards	3,933	0.9%
Mike Gravel	591	0.1%
Dennis Kucinich	912	0.2%
+Barack Obama	265,502	61.2%
Bill Richardson	1,396	0.3%
Uncommitted	42	0.0%
Total	434,110

Note: Mississippi Democrats applied to the DNC, at the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting on April 20, 2006, to hold a 2008 presidential primary in the pre-window period but the DNC voted to grant South Carolina that honor.

Republicans
39 Delegates: 3 RNC; 24 at-large; 12 by CD (3 x 4 CDs).
1.64% of the 2,380 Delegates.

McCain
former: Huckabee | Romney

Mike Huckabee	17,943	12.52%
+John McCain	113,074	78.91%
Ron Paul	5,510	3.85%
Rudy Giuliani	945	0.66%
Duncan Hunter	414	0.29%
Alan Keyes	842	0.59%
Mitt Romney	2,177	1.52%
Tom Tancredo	221	0.15%
Fred Thompson	2,160	1.51%
Total	143,286

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Voting Eligible Population: 2,068,766.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 55.7%.

Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.)

1,759

(0.15)

Nader/Camejo (Ref.)
3,177

(0.28)

Kerry/Edwards (Dem.) 458,094 (39.67)

Harris/Trowe (Indep.) 1,268
(0.11)

Cobb/LaMarche (Grn)
1,073

(0.09)

+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
684,981

(59.45)

Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.)
1,793

(0.16)

Total........1,152,145

2004 Overview
President Bush carried Mississippi with a solid plurality of 226,887 votes (19.78 percentage points), prevailing in 58 counties to 24 for Senator Kerry. There was a smattering of campaigning. Kerry made a stop on March 7, a couple of days before the primary. Elizabeth Edwards attended a fundraiser at Schimmel's in Jackson on Sept. 27. For the Republicans, Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA) did a fundraiser in Jackson on Oct. 11.
General Election Details

General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Voting Eligible Population: 2,024,650.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 49.1%.

Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
2,009

(0.20)

Buchanan/Foster (Ref.)
2,265

(0.23)

+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
572,844

(57.62)

Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
404,614

(40.70)

Hagelin/Goldhaber (NLP)
450

(0.05)

Harris/Trowe (Ind.)
613

(0.06)

Nader/LaDuke (Ind.)
8,122

(0.82)

Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
3,267

(0.33)

Total........994,184

Overview
Bush easily won Mississippi's 7 electoral votes, gaining a plurality of 168,230 votes (16.92 percentage points). He carried 57 counties to 25 for Gore. Bush gained more than 60% of the vote in four of the state's five most populous counties (Harrison, Jackson, Rankin, De Soto). Gore fared best in western counties, along the Mississippi River. The only major fall visit occurred on Aug. 29 when Dick and Lynne Cheney did an airport arrival rally and a fundraiser in Jackson.

1992 and 1996 General Elections

1992

Bush (Rep.)...........487,793	(49.68)
Clinton (Dem.)........400,258	(40.77)
Perot (Ind.)..............85,626	(8.72)
Others (5)..................8,116	(0.83)
Total........981,793

1996

Dole (Rep.).............439,838	(49.21)
Clinton (Dem.)........394,022	(44.08)
Perot (Ind.)..............52,222	(5.84)
Others (4)..................7,775	(0.87)
Total........893,857