How to Run for the Mississippi Legislature in 2027

Mississippi elects its State Senators and State Representatives in 2027. The Secretary of State has announced that qualifying for the 2027 legislative elections begins on Monday, January 4, 2027 and closes on Monday, February 1, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. under state law. Party candidates qualify by filing a Qualifying Statement of Intent for a Candidate for Party Nomination and a $250 fee with their party's state executive committee. The party primary is on Tuesday, August 3, 2027, the runoff, if needed, is on Tuesday, August 31, and the general election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027.

The qualifications are set by the Mississippi Constitution. A State Representative must be at least 21, a State Senator at least 25, and both must have been registered voters of Mississippi for four years and residents of their district for two years before the election. Independent candidates file a petition signed by at least 50 registered voters of the district, with a qualifying statement and a $250 fee, with the Secretary of State by the same deadline. This guide covers each step. The rules come from the Mississippi Constitution and Code as quoted in the Secretary of State's candidate qualifying guide, the Code itself and the Secretary of State's 2027 announcements. Confirm anything specific with the Secretary of State's Elections Division.

For county offices and the rest of the 2027 ballot, see our guide to running for local office in Mississippi.

Step 1: Confirm your district

Each Senator and Representative is elected by the voters of one district, and you must have lived in that district for two years before the election. Confirm your district before you do anything else.

In an October 12, 2026 notice, the Secretary of State said legislative district lines in the state's election system could not be adjusted until the November 2026 election, including any runoffs, is closed, which could be as late as mid-December, and noted the January 4 to February 1 qualifying period. In plain terms, check your district again in December. Ask your circuit clerk which Senate and House districts your home is in, and confirm it again before you file.

Step 2: Check that you qualify

The Secretary of State's guide quotes these qualifications from the Mississippi Constitution:

State Representative (Section 41):

• at least 21 years old;
• a qualified elector (registered voter) and resident citizen of the state for four years; and
• a resident of the district for two years before the election.

State Senator (Section 42):

• at least 25 years old;
• a qualified elector of the state for four years; and
• an actual resident of the district for two years before the election.

For the November 2, 2027 election, two years of district residency means living in the district since early November 2025 or earlier. If you are close to that line, ask an attorney or the Secretary of State's Elections Division how it is counted.

Rules that apply to every candidate.

• Certain convictions. Section 44 of the Mississippi Constitution bars a person convicted of bribery, perjury or another infamous crime, unless pardoned, and a person convicted of a felony as that section describes. Manslaughter and tax-law violations are excluded unless the offense involved misuse of an office or its money. Ask an attorney before you file if you have any conviction.
• Voting outside the district. A candidate who voted in an election somewhere else during the two years they were required to live in the district is kept off the ballot. A person who was later redistricted into the district is not disqualified for that reason.
• Other filings. Check with the Secretary of State for any other filings a candidate must have on record.

Step 3: Choose your route onto the ballot

As a party candidate

Party candidates, whether Democratic, Republican or of another party, file a Qualifying Statement of Intent for a Candidate for Party Nomination with their party's state executive committee and pay a $250 qualifying fee (Miss. Code Ann. Sections 23-15-297 and 23-15-299). The legislative fee is set by state law and is the same for every party. Your party's state office can tell you where and how to deliver your papers and fee. The state executive committee sends copies of each candidate's papers to the Secretary of State on the deadline.

After the deadline, the party's executive committee reviews each candidate's qualifications. In a statewide election year it must do so within 30 days, which is by Wednesday, March 3, 2027 (based on state law). A candidate found not qualified is notified and given a hearing. If only one candidate qualifies in a party's primary for a seat, that candidate is declared the nominee.

As an independent candidate

Independents appear only on the November 2 ballot. File these with the Secretary of State's Elections Division by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 1, 2027:

1. A Qualifying Statement of Intent for an Independent Candidate.
2. A petition signed by at least 50 registered voters of your Senate or House district (Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-359).
3. A $250 qualifying fee, payable to the Secretary of State.

The legislative petition form is addressed to the State Board of Election Commissioners, in care of the Secretary of State. Each page must show the candidate's name, the office and the date of the election before anyone signs, and each signer gives a signature, printed name, address and precinct. The circuit clerk of each county where signatures were collected must certify them before you file, so if your district crosses county lines, plan for more than one clerk's office. Our guide to running as an independent in Mississippi covers the petition step by step.

Step 4: File on time

• Qualifying opens Monday, January 4, 2027. State law does not allow qualifying fees or petitions before January 1 of the election year, and the Secretary of State has given January 4 as the opening date.
• Qualifying closes at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 1, 2027. State law sets February 1, and in 2027 it falls on a Monday.
• Receipt, not postmark. If you mail your papers, the state party or the Secretary of State must receive them by 5:00 p.m. on the deadline. A filing after that time keeps you off the ballot.
• Not online. State law does not allow qualifying papers or petitions to be filed over the internet.
• Ethics form. Within 15 days of qualifying, file a Statement of Economic Interest electronically with the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

Step 5: Plan a district campaign

A legislative district is larger than a supervisors district, and it may include parts of several counties, cities and towns. Plan by precinct.

• Know your precincts. Ask each circuit clerk in your district how to obtain a list of registered voters, and sort the precincts by how many people voted in recent primaries.
• Use the long spring. From February 1 to the August 3 primary is 26 weeks. As an example only, a candidate who knocks on 60 doors on each of two evenings a week and with volunteers on Saturdays could reach several thousand doors by July. Set your own numbers from your district and your time.
• Plan for a runoff. A candidate who wins a majority on August 3 is the nominee. If no one does, the top two meet on Tuesday, August 31, so keep some volunteer time and budget in reserve.
• Keep registration in view. Voters must register 30 days before an election. For August 3 the thirtieth day is Sunday, July 4, so ask your circuit clerk for the exact deadline. For the general election, the deadline is Monday, October 4, 2027 (based on state law).

Our Mississippi 2027 election calendar lists every date in order.

Step 6: Text supporters across the district

A district that spans several communities is hard to cover in person more than once, so a short text to supporters who asked to hear from you is useful in the final weeks. Set up CampaignCNX+ in the spring.

1. Committee and Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that a political sender is a real campaign. It needs a 527 committee (the federal tax status of a political committee) with an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Ask the Secretary of State's Elections Division where your campaign's filing can be viewed online before you request, and contact Campaign Verify Support if you cannot find it. A request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029. It costs $95, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
2. Registration. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration, as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days.
3. Your supporter groups. Add only people who agreed in writing to receive campaign texts, and record the consent date and source in a custom field. Tag supporters by county or town so a reminder about a local event reaches only the people near it.
4. Scheduled reminders. Schedule texts for the week before the primary, primary day and a possible runoff. For example:

Hi [First name], it's [Name], candidate for State House District [#]. The primary is Tue, Aug 3. Thank you for your support. Reply STOP to opt out.

Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For budget examples, see what it costs to text a local race, and for texting rules for campaigns, see our political texting page.

Confirm your district in December

Check your age, your four years as a registered voter and your two years in the district, confirm your district after any December updates, and contact your party's state office or the Secretary of State about delivering your papers. When you are ready to reach supporters by text, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.