Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
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Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 is represented byJeffery Harness (D).
As of the 2020 Census, Mississippi state representatives represented an average of24,294 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented24,412 residents.
About the office
Members of theMississippi House of Representatives servefour-year terms and are not subject toterm limits. Mississippi legislators assume office the Tuesday after the first Monday of January.[1]
Qualifications
Section 41 of Article 4 of theMississippi Constitution states, "No person shall be a member of the House of Representatives who shall not have attained the age of twenty-one (21) years, and who shall not be a qualified elector of the State, and who shall not have been a resident citizen of the State for four (4) years, and within the district such person seeks to serve for two (2) years, immediately preceding his election."[2]
Salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2025[3] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $23,500/year | House members receive no per diem during session, but are eligible for $40 per day outside of session. Senate per diem information was unavailable. |
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in theMississippi State Legislature, a special election is required to fill the vacant seat. Thegovernor must call for an election no later than 30 days after the vacancy happened. After the governor sets the election date, the counties conducting the election must be given at least 60 days' notice before the election. All qualifying deadlines are 50 days before the election.[4]
The governor can choose not to issue a writ of election if the vacancy occurs in the same calendar year as the general election for state officials.[4]
See sources:Mississippi Code Ann. § 23-15-851
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On July 3, 2025, the state filed a notice of appeal to theU.S. Supreme Court of part of a May 7, 2025, federal three-judge panel decision that led to redrawn districts and special elections. The state said the appeal would not affect the special elections.[5]
A legal challenge to the state legislative maps had resulted in a three-judge panel ordering the state to add two new majority-Black Senate districts and one new majority-Black House district by the end of the 2025 legislative session.[6] The legislature approved the new maps on March 5, 2025.[7] On April 15, 2025, a three-judge panel ordered the legislature to redraw the Senate district in DeSoto County and gave the State Board of Election Commissioners seven days to submit a new map.[8] The panel approved revised maps from the Mississippi Election Commission on May 7, 2025, and special elections in the affected districts were scheduled for November 4, 2025.[9]
Mississippi enacted new state legislative district boundaries on March 31, 2022, when both legislative chambers approved district maps for the other chamber.[10] Legislative redistricting in Mississippi is done via a joint resolution and did not require Gov.Tate Reeves' (R) approval.[10] Emily Wagster Pettus of theAssociated Press wrote that "Republican legislative leaders said the redistricting plans are likely to maintain their party's majority in each chamber."[11] Pettus also wrote that "Senate President Pro Tempore Dean Kirby of Pearl said the Senate redistricting plan keeps the same number of Republican-leaning and Democratic-leaning districts as now."[11]
Redistricting of thestate Senate was approved by the Senate on March 29, 2022, by a vote of 45-7, with 31 Republicans and 14 Democrats in favor and five Republicans and two Democrats voting against.[12] Thestate House approved the Senate's district boundaries on March 31, 2022, by a vote of 68-49. Sixty-two Republicans, three Democrats, and three independents voted in favor and 35 Democrats and 14 Republicans voted against.[13]
New district boundaries for theMississippi House of Representatives were approved by the House on March 29, 2022, by an 81-38 vote. Seventy-three Republicans, five Democrats, and three independents voted to enact the new map and 36 Democrats and two Republicans voted against it.[14] TheMississippi Senate approved the House map—41 to 8—on March 31, 2022, with 34 Republicans and seven Democrats voting in favor and all eight votes against by Democrats.[15]
How does redistricting in Mississippi work? In Mississippi, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by thestate legislature. Congressional district lines are approved as regular legislation and are thus subject to veto by thegovernor. State legislative district boundaries are approved as a joint resolution; as such, they are not subject to gubernatorial veto.[16]
If the legislature cannot approve a state legislative redistricting plan, a five-member commission must draw the lines. This commission comprises the chief justice of theMississippi Supreme Court, theattorney general, thesecretary of state, and the majority leaders of theMississippi State Senate and theMississippi House of Representatives.[16]
TheMississippi Constitution requires that state legislative district boundaries be contiguous. State statutes further require that state legislative districts "be compact and cross political boundaries as little as possible."[16]
Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
before 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
after 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2023
See also: Mississippi House of Representatives elections, 2023
General election
General election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
IncumbentJeffery Harness defeatedMichael Longnecker in the general election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeffery Harness (D) | 79.9 | 5,968 |
| Michael Longnecker (L) | 20.1 | 1,497 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 7,465 | ||
 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
IncumbentJeffery Harness defeatedRichard Buford in the Democratic primary for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeffery Harness | 70.7 | 3,747 |
| Richard Buford | 29.3 | 1,556 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 5,303 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2019
Elections for theMississippi House of Representatives took place in 2019. The primary was on August 6, 2019, the primary runoff was on August 27, and the general election was on November 5. The filing deadline for candidates was March 1, 2019.
General election
General election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
IncumbentJeffery Harness won election in the general election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeffery Harness (D) | 100.0 | 7,305 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 7,305 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
IncumbentJeffery Harness advanced from the Democratic primary for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeffery Harness | 100.0 | 5,025 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 5,025 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
Aspecial election for the position ofMississippi House of RepresentativesDistrict 85 was called for November 6, 2018. A runoff election was held on November 27, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was September 17, 2018.[17]
The seat became vacant in September 2018 following the resignation ofChuck Middleton (D).[17]
General runoff election
Special general runoff election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
Jeffery Harness defeatedJoAnn Collins-Smith in the special general runoff election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 on November 27, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeffery Harness (Nonpartisan) | 58.0 | 4,534 |
| JoAnn Collins-Smith (Nonpartisan) | 42.0 | 3,277 | ||
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 7,811 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
Special general election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85
Jeffery Harness andJoAnn Collins-Smith advanced to a runoff. They defeatedMaurice Hudson andTyler Doss in the special general election for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeffery Harness (Nonpartisan) | 36.7 | 2,630 |
| ✔ | JoAnn Collins-Smith (Nonpartisan) | 27.1 | 1,938 | |
| Maurice Hudson (Nonpartisan) | 19.0 | 1,360 | ||
| Tyler Doss (Nonpartisan) | 17.2 | 1,233 | ||
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 7,161 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
Elections for theMississippi House of Representatives took place in 2015. A primary election was held on August 4, 2015. The general election took place onNovember 3, 2015. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 27, 2015.[18] IncumbentAmerica Chuck Middleton defeatedMaurice Hudson andAllen Burks in the Democratic primary. No Republican candidates filed for election. Middleton ran unchallenged in the District 85 general election.
| Mississippi House of Representatives, District 85 Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 America Chuck MiddletonIncumbent | 55.5% | 3,116 |
| Maurice Hudson | 23.5% | 1,319 |
| Allen Burks | 21% | 1,179 |
| Total Votes | 5,614 | |
2011
Elections for the office of Mississippi House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on August 2, 2011 and a general election onNovember 8, 2011. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 1, 2011. IncumbentAmerica Chuck Middleton (D) was unopposed in the general election and the Democratic primary.[19]
Campaign contributions
From 2003 to 2023, candidates for Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 raised a total of $56,201. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $3,747 on average. All figures come fromFollow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Mississippi House of Representatives District 85 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2023 | $13,881 | 3 | $4,627 |
| 2019 | $0 | 1 | $0 |
| 2018 | $900 | 4 | $225 |
| 2011 | $17,820 | 2 | $8,910 |
| 2007 | $15,442 | 2 | $7,721 |
| 2003 | $8,158 | 3 | $2,719 |
| Total | $56,201 | 15 | $3,747 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑Mississippi Constitution, "Article 4, Section 36," accessed November 1, 2021
- ↑Mississippi Constitution, "Article 4, Section 41," accessed May 22, 2025
- ↑National Conference of State Legislatures, "2025 Legislator Compensation," December 2, 2025
- ↑4.04.1Justia US Law, "2020 Mississippi Code," accessed February 6, 2023(Statute 23-15-851)
- ↑Magnolia Tribune, "Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court coming to address “very narrow, legal issue” in court-ordered legislative redistricting," July 3, 2025
- ↑Associated Press, "Mississippi can wait to reset legislative districts that dilute Black voting strength, judges say," July 18, 2024
- ↑Associated Press, "New Mississippi legislative maps head to court for approval despite DeSoto lawmakers’ objections," March 6, 2025
- ↑DeSoto Times-Tribune, "Judges order new redistricting map for DeSoto," April 16, 2025
- ↑Mississippi Today, "Federal court approves Mississippi legislative redistricting. Special elections will proceed," May 9, 2025
- ↑10.010.1Jackson Free Press, "Mississippi House and Senate OK Each Other's Redistricting," April 1, 2022
- ↑11.011.1Jackson Free Press, "Mississippi House, Senate Pass Separate Redistricting Plans," March 30, 2022
- ↑‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 202-History of Actions, 03/29 (S) Adopted," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 202-History of Actions, 03/31 (H) Adopted," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 1-History of Actions, 03/29 (H) Adopted As Amended," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑‘’Mississippi legislature’’, “Joint Resolution 1-History of Actions, 03/31 (S) Adopted," accessed April 7, 2022
- ↑16.016.116.2All About Redistricting, "Mississippi," accessed May 4, 2015
- ↑17.017.1Mississippi Today, "Middleton resigns from Mississippi House after more than 20 years," September 4, 2018
- ↑Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections Calendar," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑Mississippi Secretary of State, "2011 election results," accessed November 13, 2013
