Mississippi does not hold runoffs for general elections for federal offices, Secretary of State Michael Watson is reminding voters.
“Ensuring Mississippi voters and election officials have clear, straightforward information about how our elections are decided is imperative,” Watson said in a statement. “The requirements are not the same for every office, so we want to make sure candidates, election officials, and voters have trusted information prior to Election Day.”
Watson’s clarification comes amid a high-profile Senate race, with Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith facing two challengers: Democratic nominee Scott Colom and independent opponent Ty Pinkins.
Runoff elections can be confusing in Mississippi because some offices require them, but others do not. There have been runoff elections in recent congressional elections. But those were either primary elections or special elections, not regular general elections.
In 2018, a runoff between Hyde-Smith and Espy occurred after the two received more votes than former state Sen. Chris McDaniel. This was a special election after longtime Sen. Thad Cochran’s resignation.
McDaniel also forced Cochran into a 2014 runoff in the Republican primary after neither gained an outright majority because of a third-party candidate, Thomas Carey. Cochran later defeated McDaniel in the runoff.
But it’s long been the law in Mississippi that there are no runoff elections for general elections in federal races. The winner is required to win only a plurality of the votes, not a majority.
Cochran famously became Mississippi’s first Republican U.S. senator since Reconstruction in 1978 without securing an outright majority. Cochran competed in the general election against Maurice Dantin, the Democratic nominee, and Charles Evers, an independent.
Cochran received 45% of the vote, Dantin received 31%, and Evers received 22%.
Mississippi requires candidates for the eight statewide state offices, judicial offices, and county offices to receive a majority. Only a plurality is required for candidates running for congressional, legislative, state district, and municipal offices.
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