The mississippi delegation

congressional officials …

Mississippi is a small delegation state with a very red state flavor.

Of the six members in the 2022-2023 class, five are male, one is female, and only one is minority representation through the end of the year. Four of the six delegation members won their first terms through a special election, and one is a freshman.

One of the House members is an Army National Guard Major General, and one of the Senators is an Air Force veteran. 

Three are lawyers, and one holds a graduate degree.  The University of Mississippi conferred five degrees.

The average tenure for the delegation currently is 4.5 terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2024. The longest-serving member has been in Congress since 1993.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are important to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. For example, two of the six Mississippi delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on key matters because they do control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been, in our opinion, innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections today. The overwhelming majority of House members were re-elected in 2022. One of the two United States Senators is up for re-election this season.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Senator Wicker is included since he has a race in 2024. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Mississippians? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

There are no vulnerable races in Mississippi for Thomas to watch in 2024.

the senators

United States Senator roger Wicker (r)

Mississippi’s senior senator, Roger Wicker, is a full three-term member of the U.S. Senate having first been elected in a special election in 2008. He serves on the Armed Services Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Rules and Administration Committee. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Mississippi.  An Air Force veteran, Senator Wicker is married and the father of three.

Thomas Take: Safe Bet Republican

Thomas Rank: B

Website

United states senator cindy hyde-smith (R)

Mississippi’s junior senator is serving her first full term in the U.S. Senate after a special election in 2018.  A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Senator Hyde-Smith is a member of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Appropriations Committee; the Environment and Natural Resources Committee; and the Rules and Administration Committee.  She is married and the mother of one.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: D

Website

the representatives