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Mississippi's 2nd congressional district (MS-2) covers much of Western Mississippi. It includes most of Jackson, the riverfront cities of Greenville and Vicksburg and the interior market cities of Clarksdale, Greenwood and Clinton. The district is approximately 275 miles (443 km) long, 180 miles (290 km) wide and borders the Mississippi River; it encompasses much of the Mississippi Delta, and a total of 15 counties and parts of several others. It is the only majority-black district in the state.

Mississippi's 2nd congressional district
Mississippi's 2nd congressional district since January 3, 2013
Representative	Bennie Thompson D–Bolton
Area	14,519.68 sq mi (37,605.8 km2)
Distribution	62.67% urban 37.33% rural
Population (2021)	660,002[1]
Median household income	$38,276[2]
Ethnicity	65.6% Black 31.1% White 1.9% Hispanic 0.6% Two or more races 0.5% Asian 0.4% other
Cook PVI	D+13[3]

The district is home to four of Mississippi's eight public four-year colleges and universities: Alcorn State University in Lorman; Delta State University in Cleveland; Jackson State University in Jackson; and Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, a few miles west of Greenwood. All except Delta State are HBCUs and are members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

From statehood to the election of 1846, Mississippi elected representatives at-large statewide on a general ticket. This favored candidates who could command a majority of the voters, then consisting mostly of white men of property.

Following Reconstruction, the Democratic Party regained control of the state legislature and worked to reduce Republican voting strength in the state. It redefined congressional districts, creating a 'shoestring' congressional district running the length of the Mississippi River and taking in the majority-black (then Republican) areas of the Mississippi Delta. By this gerrymandering, they created five other districts with white majorities.[4]

Election campaigns were often accompanied by fraud and violence as Democrats tried to reduce black Republican voting. Finally, the Democratic-dominated legislature passed a new constitution in 1890, with barriers to voter registration and other measures that effectively disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites for decades, subduing the Republican and Populist movements of the late 19th century.[5]

The legislature has redefined congressional districts over the years to reflect population changes in the state. Districts 5 through 8 were reallocated to the 1st, 3rd and 4th. The 2nd, bounded by the Mississippi River on the west, continues to have a black-majority population. Since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provided federal oversight and enforcement to protect voting rights, African American residents here have consistently supported Democratic Party candidates. On the other hand, most white conservatives have shifted into the Republican Party, which would eventually dominate the state legislature. The district is one of the poorest in the U.S.,[6] with 26.2% of people in poverty as of 2017.[7]

The district's current Representative is Democrat Bennie Thompson.

Election results from presidential races

Year	Office	Result
2000	President	Gore 59 - 39%
2004	President	Kerry 57 - 40%
2008	President	Obama 66 - 34%
2012	President	Obama 66 - 33%
2016	President	Clinton 64 - 35%
2020	President	Biden 64 - 35%

Recent election results

2000

2000 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	112,777	65.07
	Republican	Hardy Caraway	54,090	31.21
	Libertarian	William G. Chipman	4,305	2.48
	Reform	Lee F. Dilworth	2,135	1.23
Turnout			173,307
Majority			58,687	33.86

2002

2002 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	89,913	55.14	-9.93
	Republican	Clinton B. LeSueur	69,711	42.75	+11.54
	Reform	Lee F. Dilworth	3,426	2.10	+0.87
Turnout			163,050
Majority			20,202	12.39

2004

2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	154,626	58.38	+3.24
	Republican	Clinton B. LeSueur	107,647	40.64	-2.11
	Reform	Shawn O'Hara	2,596	0.98	-1.12
Turnout			264,869
Majority			46,979	17.74

2006

2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	100,168	64.27	+5.89
	Republican	Yvonne R. Brown	55,672	35.73	-4.91
Turnout			155,832
Majority			44,496	28.55

2008

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	201,606	69.05	+4.78
	Republican	Richard Cook	90,364	30.95	-4.78
Turnout			291,970
Majority			111,242	38.10

2010

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	105,327	61.47	-7.58
	Republican	Bill Marcy	64,499	37.64	+6.69
	Reform	Ashley Norwood	1,530	0.89	N/A
Total votes			171,356	100.00
	Democratic hold

2012

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	214,978	67.13	+5.66
	Republican	Bill Marcy	99,160	30.96	-6.68
	Independent	Cobby Williams	4,605	1.44	N/A
	Reform	Lajena Williams	1,501	0.47	-0.42
Total votes			320,244	100.00
	Democratic hold

2014

2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	100,688	67.7
	Independent	Troy Ray	36,465	24.5
	Reform	Shelley Shoemake	11,493	7.7
Total votes			148,646	100.00
	Democratic hold

2016

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	192,343	67.1
	Republican	John Bouie II	83,542	29.1
	Independent	Troy Ray	6,918	2.4
	Reform	Johnny McLeod	3,823	1.3
Total votes			286,626	100.00
	Democratic hold

2018

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	158,921	71.8
	Independent	Troy Ray	48,104	21.7
	Reform	Irving Harris	14,354	6.5
Total votes			221,379	100.00
	Democratic hold

2020

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi: District 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (Incumbent)	196,331	66.2
	Republican	Brian Flowers	101,037	33.9
Total votes			297,368	100.00
	Democratic hold

List of members representing the district

Name	Party	Years of Service	Cong ress	Electoral history
District created March 4, 1847
Winfield S. Featherston	Democratic	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1851	30th 31st	Elected in 1846. Re-elected in 1848. Lost re-election as a Southern Rights candidate.[8]
John A. Wilcox	Unionist	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	32nd	Elected in 1851. Lost re-election as a Whig.
William T. S. Barry	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd	Elected in 1853. Retired to run for state representative.
Hendley S. Bennett	Democratic	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	34th	Elected in 1855. Lost renomination.
Reuben Davis	Democratic	March 4, 1857 – January 12, 1861	35th 36th	Elected in 1857. Re-elected in 1859. Withdrew due to Civil War.
Vacant		January 12, 1861 – February 23, 1870	36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st	Civil War and Reconstruction
Joseph L. Morphis	Republican	February 23, 1870 – March 3, 1873	41st 42nd	Elected in 1869 to finish the term and to the next term. Lost renomination.
Albert R. Howe	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875	43rd	Elected in 1872. Lost re-election.
G. Wiley Wells	Independent Republican	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	44th	Elected in 1874. Retired.
Van H. Manning	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1883	45th 46th 47th	Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882 but lost contested election.
Vacant		March 4, 1883 – June 25, 1884	48th
James R. Chalmers	Independent	June 25, 1884 – March 3, 1885		Seated after contested election with Van H. Manning. Lost re-election.
James B. Morgan	Democratic	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1891	49th 50th 51st	Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Retired.
John C. Kyle	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1897	52nd 53rd 54th	Elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Retired.
William V. Sullivan	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – May 31, 1898	55th	Elected in 1896. Resigned when appointed U.S. senator.
Vacant		May 31, 1898 – July 5, 1898
Thomas Spight	Democratic	July 5, 1898 – March 3, 1911	55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st	Elected to finish Sullivan's term. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Lost renomination.
Hubert D. Stephens	Democratic	March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1921	62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th	Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Retired.
Bill G. Lowrey	Democratic	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1929	67th 68th 69th 70th	Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Lost renomination.
Wall Doxey	Democratic	March 4, 1929 – September 28, 1941	71st 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th	Elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Resigned when elected U.S. senator.
Vacant		September 28, 1941 – November 4, 1941	77th
Jamie Whitten	Democratic	November 4, 1941 – January 3, 1973	77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd	Elected to finish Doxey's term. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Redistricted to the 1st district.
David R. Bowen	Democratic	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1983	93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th	Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Retired.
Webb Franklin	Republican	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1987	98th 99th	Elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Lost re-election.
Mike Espy	Democratic	January 3, 1987 – January 22, 1993	100th 101st 102nd 103rd	Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
Vacant		January 22, 1993 – April 13, 1993	103rd
Bennie Thompson	Democratic	April 13, 1993 – present	103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th	Elected to finish Espy's term. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022.

Historical district boundaries

See also

• Mississippi's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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