Lafayette County voters cast their ballots in federal, judicial and local races for the 2026 midterms on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The midterm elections include races for the U.S. Senate and Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District, along with several nonpartisan judicial contests and a local school board race.
U.S. Senate
Three candidates are seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Scott Colom is the Democratic candidate. He is the district attorney for Mississippi’s 16th Circuit, which includes Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties. Colom, a Columbus, Miss., native, was elected district attorney in 2015. His campaign focuses on improving health care, raising wages and lowering prices for housing, gas and groceries.
If elected, Colom would be the first Black senator for Mississippi since 1875 during Reconstruction.
Cindy Hyde-Smith is the Republican candidate and the incumbent senator. A former Mississippi commissioner of agriculture and commerce and state senator, Hyde-Smith was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and later won a full six-year term. Her campaign focuses on strengthening border security, abortion restrictions and gun rights, while also highlighting rural health care, agriculture and national security.
Ty Pinkins is the independent candidate. He is a Vicksburg, Miss.,-based attorney and Army veteran. He previously worked as a White House communications aide and attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice. His campaign focuses on issues including affordable health care, housing, education, jobs and the economy, as well as improving veterans’ services and government accountability.
U.S. House of Representatives, 1st Congressional District
Three candidates are running to represent Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District.
Trent Kelly is the Republican candidate and incumbent representative for Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. Kelly previously served as a district attorney in northeast Mississippi and spent 40 years in the Mississippi Army National Guard. His campaign highlights national defense and veterans, health care access, energy and protecting Second Amendment rights.
Cliff Johnson is the Democratic candidate, the director of the MacArthur Justice Center and a professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney under President Bill Clinton’s administration. Johnson’s campaign focuses on affordability of everyday expenses, expanding access to health care, supporting public schools and economic development and protecting voting rights.
Johnny Baucom is a Libertarian candidate and a Columbus, Miss., resident. Baucom is an Army National Guard veteran and health and safety technician. His campaign emphasizes reducing government regulations, reforming immigration policy and changing federal marijuana laws.
Judicial and local races
Lafayette County voters will also select candidates in several nonpartisan judicial races.
Candidates for Court of Appeals District 1, Position 1 are Derek Dewayne Hopson Jr. and John Weddle. Donna M. Barnes is the only listed candidate for Court of Appeals District 1, Position 2.
The ballot also includes four candidates for Chancery District 18, Place 1: Jenessa Carter Hicks, Sarah J. Liddy, Jennifer L. Shackelford and Michael Watts. The only listed candidate Chancery District 18, Place 2 is Robert Q. Whitwell.
For Circuit Court District 3, Place 1, Gray Tollison is the only listed candidate. Bart M. Adams, Shirley C. Byers and Steven Patrick Jubera are seeking Place 2, while Kent E. Smith is the only listed candidate for Place 3.
Tiffany Kilpatrick is the only listed candidate for Lafayette County Court Judge, and Kathy Babb Worley is the only listed candidate for School Board District 5. Both Kilpatrick and Worley are running for reelection for their respective positions.
Voters can find the candidates for federal, judicial and local races on the Lafayette County sample ballot at https://lafayettems.com/voting/.
