The 2024 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Mississippi voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. Mississippi's six votes in the Electoral College were unaffected by reapportionment after the 2020 United States census.
Donald Trump ran on the Republican ballot for a third consecutive time, winning the state by a margin of 22.9%, up 6.4 points from his margin four years earlier. Trump was the first person to receive 60% of the vote in a presidential election in Mississippi since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Before the election, most news organizations considered Mississippi a safe win for Trump.
This was the first time since 2004 that the Democratic presidential nominee won less than 40% of the vote in Mississippi, a state that is 38% Black. All but one county (Sharkey County) shifted towards Republicans, and Trump flipped some majority-Black counties. Because Republicans had already essentially topped out their support among whites in Mississippi, Trump's even bigger than usual victory for a Republican in Mississippi was likely due to his relatively strong performance for a Republican candidate among black voters and in particular black men.
Primary elections
Republican primary
The Mississippi Republican primary was held on March 12, 2024, alongside primaries in Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, and Washington. 40 delegates to the Republican National Convention will be allocated to presidential candidates.
Democratic primary
The 2024 Mississippi Democratic presidential primary was held on March 12, 2024, alongside the Democrats Abroad, Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington primaries, and Northern Mariana Islands caucuses. 40 delegates to the Democratic National Convention will be allocated to presidential candidates.
In Mississippi, candidates have to pay a filing fee of $2,500 and gather at least 500 signatures to make the primary ballot. Incumbent President Joe Biden won the primary, being the only candidate that met these requirements.
Winner
Results
General election
Early voting
A study by the Center for Election Innovation & Research in July 2024 found that Mississippi is one of only three remaining states (along with Alabama and New Hampshire) to offer no early in-person voting option for the 2024 general election. The state also requires an eligible reason to vote by mail.
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Copiah (largest city: Crystal Springs)
- Issaquena (largest city: Mayersville)
- Jasper (largest city: Bay Springs)
- Marshall (largest city: Holly Springs)
- Oktibbeha (largest city: Starkville)
- Pike (largest city: McComb)
- Warren (largest city: Vicksburg)
- Yazoo (largest city: Yazoo City)
By congressional district
Trump won three of four congressional districts.
Analysis
Though Mississippi has voted to the left of its bordering states in recent presidential elections, owing mainly to its large African-American minority, the state is located in the Deep South and therefore the Bible Belt. One of the most socially conservative states in the nation, it has not been won by a Democratic presidential candidate since Southerner Jimmy Carter's narrow statewide victory in 1976, nor has it been competitive at this level since Bill Clinton of neighboring Arkansas fell five points short of carrying the state in 1996.
Trump received 60.9% of the vote in Mississippi, winning the state by a 22.9% margin. Harris received 15% fewer total votes than Biden did, in large part with a decline in turnout from black majority counties in the Mississippi Delta. Collectively, these counties saw an 8% drop in turnout compared to 2020. Trump flipped the majority black counties of Copiah, Issaquena, Jasper, Pike, Warren, and Yazoo, as well as Marshall and Oktibbeha counties.
Copiah, Oktibbeha, Pike, and Yazoo counties last backed a Republican for president in 2004, Issaquena County in 1984, Jasper County in 2000, and Marshall County in 1972. Meanwhile, Warren County continued its bellwether streak going back to 2012. Turnout noticeably fell, with Harris receiving more than 70,000 fewer votes than Biden, and fewer raw votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016. Mississippi was one of three states, along with Louisiana and Illinois, where Harris received fewer votes than Clinton.
Despite their poor performance in Mississippi in this election, Democrats saw a resurgence two years later with Scott Colom's unexpected U.S. Senate victory in the state.