Qualifying for Mississippi's 2027 elections closes at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 1, 2027. That deadline applies to party candidates, independent candidates, justice court judge candidates and county election commissioner candidates alike. Qualifying opens on Monday, January 4, 2027. The party primary is on Tuesday, August 3, 2027, the primary runoff is on Tuesday, August 31, the general election is on Tuesday, November 2, and the general runoff is on Tuesday, November 30, 2027.
2027 is Mississippi's year for statewide offices, the Legislature, district attorneys and county offices: sheriff, chancery clerk, circuit clerk, tax assessor, tax collector, coroner, county attorney, surveyor, supervisors, justice court judges, constables and some election commissioners. City and town offices are not on the 2027 ballot.
The election dates on this page come from the Mississippi Secretary of State's 2026 to 2027 election calendar. Dates marked "based on state law" are worked out from the Mississippi Code and are not yet printed on an official 2027 calendar, so confirm each one with your circuit clerk. For the full process of getting on the ballot, start with our guide to running for local office in Mississippi.
The 2027 dates at a glance
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sunday, November 15, 2026 | Campaign Verify requests made on or after this date last through January 31, 2029 (for campaigns that plan to text) |
| Monday, January 4, 2027 | Qualifying opens (the Secretary of State's date for legislative offices; for county offices, based on state law) |
| Monday, February 1, 2027, 5:00 p.m. | Qualifying closes for party, independent, justice court judge and election commissioner candidates |
| Wednesday, March 3, 2027 | Last day for party executive committees to finish reviewing candidates' qualifications (based on state law) |
| Tuesday, August 3, 2027 | Party primary election |
| Tuesday, August 31, 2027 | Primary runoff, in races where no candidate won a majority |
| Monday, October 4, 2027 | Voter registration deadline for the general election (based on state law) |
| Tuesday, November 2, 2027 | General election |
| Tuesday, November 30, 2027 | General runoff, for any race that needs one |
What is on the 2027 ballot
The Secretary of State's calendar lists these offices for 2027:
- Statewide: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Attorney General, Treasurer, Commissioner of Insurance, and Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.
- State district: State Senators, State Representatives, Transportation Commissioners, Public Service Commissioners and District Attorneys.
- County: Sheriff, chancery clerk, circuit clerk, tax assessor, tax collector, coroner, county attorney, surveyor, supervisors, justice court judges, constables and election commissioners.
Ask your circuit clerk which county offices will be on your county's ballot.
Election commissioners are a special case in 2027. Under state law, only supervisors Districts Two and Four elect an election commissioner in 2027, for a three-year term.
November and December 2026: before qualifying opens
Confirm your district. For a supervisor, constable or legislative seat, you must live in the district you want to represent. The Secretary of State noted in October 2026 that legislative district lines in the state's election system may be updated before qualifying opens, so confirm your district with your circuit clerk before you file.
Gather the forms. The forms for each office are on the Secretary of State's candidate qualifying forms page and at the circuit clerk's office.
Check the fees. The fees for county and legislative offices are set by state law and are the same for every party: $100 for county and county district offices, $250 for State Senate, State House and district attorney, and $100 for justice court judge. The Secretary of State must publish the fees at least 45 days before qualifying begins.
Sunday, November 15, 2026, if you plan to text. Campaign Verify, the check that political campaigns need before texting from a registered number, sets its cycle by request date. Requests made before November 15 expire on Sunday, January 31, 2027, before qualifying even closes. Requests made on or after November 15 last until Wednesday, January 31, 2029, which covers every 2027 election date.
January 2027: qualifying opens
Monday, January 4, 2027. State law bars qualifying fees and petitions before January 1 of the election year. January 1 is New Year's Day, which falls on a Friday, so the first weekday is Monday, January 4. The Secretary of State has announced that qualifying for the 2027 legislative elections begins on January 4. For county offices, the January 4 start is based on state law, so ask your circuit clerk for the office's hours.
From this date:
- Party candidates for county and county district office file a Qualifying Statement of Intent for a Candidate for Party Nomination and a $100 fee, payable to the party, at the circuit clerk's office in their county of residence.
- Party candidates for the Legislature file their statement of intent and a $250 fee with their party's state executive committee.
- Independent candidates file a statement of intent, a petition with signatures certified by the circuit clerk, and the fee. County independents file with the circuit clerk. Legislative independents file with the Secretary of State.
- Justice court judge candidates file a judicial statement of intent, a judicial affidavit and a $100 fee with the circuit clerk.
- Election commissioner candidates in Districts Two and Four file a petition signed by 50 registered voters of their supervisors district with the chancery clerk, who is the clerk of the board of supervisors.
February 1, 2027: qualifying closes at 5:00 p.m.
Monday, February 1, 2027, 5:00 p.m. This is the deadline for every route onto the 2027 ballot described above. It is an actual-receipt deadline, so a mailed filing that arrives after 5:00 p.m. is late regardless of its postmark. State law says a candidate who files after 5:00 p.m. on the deadline will not be placed on the primary or general election ballot.
Independent candidates have an extra step before the deadline. The circuit clerk's office must certify the petition signatures before the candidate files, and the Secretary of State advises independents to allow plenty of time for that check. Our guide to running as an independent in Mississippi explains the petition.
Within 15 days of qualifying. Every candidate files a Statement of Economic Interest electronically with the Mississippi Ethics Commission. This is an ethics disclosure. Check with the Secretary of State for any other filings that apply to your office.
February and March 2027: qualifications are reviewed
After the deadline, the party executive committees review their candidates' registration, residency and other qualifications. In a statewide election year, they must finish within 30 days of the qualifying deadline, which is Wednesday, March 3, 2027 (based on state law). A candidate found not qualified is notified and given a hearing, and a challenge can go to the circuit court within 10 days of the decision. If only one candidate qualifies in a party's primary for an office, that candidate is declared the party's nominee.
August 2027: the primary and the runoff
Voter registration for the primary. Mississippi voters must register 30 days before an election. For the August 3 primary, the thirtieth day is Sunday, July 4, so the deadline moves to the next regular business day. Ask your circuit clerk for the exact date and share it with your supporters.
Tuesday, August 3, 2027. The party primary. The county party executive committees conduct the primary, and a candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast becomes the party's nominee.
Tuesday, August 31, 2027. The primary runoff. If no candidate wins a majority on August 3, the two candidates with the most votes meet four weeks later, and the candidate with the most votes in the runoff becomes the nominee.
September to November 2027: the general election
Monday, October 4, 2027. Voter registration deadline for the general election, based on state law. Thirty days before November 2 is Sunday, October 3, so the deadline moves to Monday.
Tuesday, November 2, 2027. The general election. Party nominees and qualified independents appear on the ballot together, and justice court judge candidates appear without a party label.
Tuesday, November 30, 2027. The general runoff date on the Secretary of State's calendar, for any race that needs a runoff. Election commissioners, for example, must win a majority, and if no one does, the top two meet in a second election four weeks later.
What is not on the 2027 calendar
- City and town offices. Mississippi's code charter municipalities hold their general elections every four years. The last was in 2025, and the next is in 2029, based on state law. A city with a special charter that opted out of the state schedule holds its elections when its charter says.
- School boards. The Secretary of State's calendar lists school board members under 2026, not 2027. Ask your circuit clerk if you are unsure about a seat in your county.
- Chancery, circuit and county court judges. These are also on the 2026 list.
Step in the calendar: set up texting before the primary
How a new number gets approved
- Open your account100 free SMS included
- Buy your number$5 a month. Nothing sends until the account has one.
- Verify your campaignCampaign Verify, $95 per two-year cycle. Needs your committee's EIN and filing.
- We file the registrationToll-free verification, or 10DLC for a local number ($75 one time)
- The carriers review itAbout three business days for a toll-free number
- Send your first textStart with a small test group
The weeks after qualifying closes are a good time to set up texting, because the primary is six months away and your list of supporters is growing.
- Check your filing, then request Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify costs $95 per two-year cycle. It is open to 527 committees (527 is the federal tax status of a political committee) that have an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Candidates with no committee are not eligible. Ask the Secretary of State's Elections Division or your circuit clerk where your campaign's filing can be viewed online. If you cannot find it, contact Campaign Verify Support before you request. Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
- Open your CampaignCNX+ account. CampaignCNX+ files your registration with the carriers (the mobile phone companies), either as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or as toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
- Schedule your reminders. Write short texts for the registration deadline, the week before August 3 and primary day. Send them only to supporters who agreed in writing to receive your texts, and end each person's first message with "Reply STOP to opt out." Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone.
Our campaign plan to the August 3, 2027 Mississippi primary turns these dates into a schedule, and our page on political texting covers texting rules for campaigns.
Mark February 1 now
The qualifying period lasts four weeks, and a filing that arrives after 5:00 p.m. on February 1 is late. Put January 4 and 5:00 p.m. on February 1 on your calendar today, gather your forms, and have texting ready before the summer. Start a CampaignCNX+ trial once your campaign's filing is in place.
