2023 Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election

The 2023 Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2023, to elect the lieutenant governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann won re-election to a second term in office, significantly outperforming Republican Governor Tate Reeves in the concurrent governor election.

2023 Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 2019 November 7, 2023 2027 →
 
Nominee Delbert Hosemann Ryan Grover
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 490,956 317,347
Percentage 60.74% 39.26%

Hosemann:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Grover:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Lieutenant Governor before election

Delbert Hosemann
Republican

Elected Lieutenant Governor

Delbert Hosemann
Republican

Hosemann drew a primary challenge from state senator Chris McDaniel, who is best known for nearly unseating U.S. Senator Thad Cochran in his 2014 primary.[1] McDaniel accused Hosemann of being a "liberal" and criticized him for allowing Democrats to chair committees in the state senate, labeling him "Delbert 'the Democrat' Hosemann."[2] In response, Hosemann defended his conservative credentials and called McDaniel "the least effective politician in the state with the largest ego."[1] Marketing executive Ryan Grover was the only Democrat who filed to run.[3]

Republican primary

edit

Governor Tate Reeves declined to endorse in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor, however, he did not keep his frustrations with incumbent Lieutenant Governor Hosemann a secret, implying to reporters that there is only one "conservative candidate running" for the position.[4] This led to Mississippi Republican Party chairman Frank Bordeaux having to get involved behind the scenes to quell tensions between Hosemann and McDaniel.[4]

In campaign ads, speeches, interviews, and social media posts, McDaniel tied Hosemann to the South Jackson Women's Clinic, in attempts to attack Hosemann's record on the issue of abortion. According to The Associated Press, the physician who runs the clinic, however, didn't start performing abortions until after Hosemann provided legal services to the clinic. In response, Hosemann called McDaniel a "pathological liar" and accused him of defamation.[5]

On August 2, Hosemann accused McDaniel of not living in the district where he votes, saying that "it appears doubtful that he lived in his district, which means he voted illegally." McDaniel claimed that the allegations are "just [Hosemann] being desperate."[6]

Candidates

edit

Nominee

edit

Eliminated in primary

edit

Withdrawn

edit
  • Shane Quick, music promoter and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2019[7]

Endorsements

edit
Delbert Hosemann

U.S. Senators

State legislators

Organizations

Chris McDaniel

U.S. Senators

State legislators

Local officials

Organizations

Declined to endorse

Statewide officials

Fundraising

edit
Primary campaign finance activity as of June 9, 2023
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on hand
Delbert Hosemann[15] $2,500,307 $1,363,092 $3,704,915
Chris McDaniel[16] $785,135 $646,604 $386,490

Polling

edit
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Delbert
Hosemann
Tiffany
Longino
Chris
McDaniel
Shane
Quick
Undecided
Mississippi Today/Siena College[17] June 4–7, 2023 646 (LV) ± 4.8% 47% - 32% - 21%
American Strategies[18][A] May 22–24, 2023 646 (LV) ± 3.9% 40% 1% 45% 1% 13%

Results

edit
 
Results by county:
  Hosemann
  •   70–80%
  •   60–70%
  •   50–60%
  •   40–50%
  McDaniel
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
Republican primary results[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Delbert Hosemann (incumbent) 198,979 52.11%
Republican Chris McDaniel 162,708 42.61%
Republican Tiffany Longino 20,143 5.28%
Total votes 381,830 100.00%

Democratic primary

edit

Candidates

edit
  • D. Ryan Grover, marketing consultant and graphic designer[3]

Results

edit
Democratic primary results[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic D. Ryan Grover 151,793 100.00%
Total votes 151,793 100.00%

General election

edit

Endorsements

edit
Delbert Hosemann (R)

U.S. Senators

State legislators

Organizations

Results

edit
2023 Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Delbert Hosemann (incumbent) 490,956 60.74% +0.73%
Democratic Ryan Grover 317,347 39.26% –0.73%
Total votes 808,303 100.0%
Republican hold

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan clients

  1. ^ This poll was sponsored by the National Apartment Association and the National Association of Realtors; the Mississippi branch of the latter group has endorsed Hosemann. The poll was never officially released, and was instead leaked by the Magnolia Tribune in June 2023.[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Chris McDaniel announces Lt. Gov. run, comes out swinging against fellow Republican Hosemann".
  2. ^ Pender, Geoff (May 2, 2023). "McDaniel vows to sideline Democratic senators if elected lieutenant governor". Mississippi Today. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Candidate qualifying deadline passes and reveals slate of 2023 statewide candidates". www.wlbt.com. February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Vance, Taylor (May 17, 2023). "Top GOP brass works to keep peace after Gov. Tate Reeves opines on lieutenant governor primary". Mississippi Today. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Goldberg, Michael (July 19, 2023). "Letter reviewed by the AP undercuts Mississippi candidate's accusation against lieutenant governor". Associated Press. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Simmons, Scott (August 2, 2023). "New accusations arise in the race for Mississippi lieutenant governor". WAPT. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  7. ^ Vance, Taylor (June 8, 2023). "Shane Quick withdraws from GOP primary in lieutenant governor's race". Mississippi Today. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e Corder, Frank (August 3, 2023). "Ted Cruz endorses McDaniel; Wicker, Hyde-Smith back Hosemann". Magnolia Tribune. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Pettus, Emily Wagster (July 22, 2023). "Mississippi senator says tutu photo is misused in campaign. He's raising money for cancer research". Associated Press. Yahoo! News. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Latino, Russ (June 26, 2023). "Newly leaked poll put McDaniel up in Lt. Governor race, BUT…". Magnolia Tribune. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "National Right to Life Endorses Delbert Hosemann in Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Race". National Right to Life Committee. July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "MMA PAC Board Endorses Delbert Hosemann for Re-Election as Lieutenant Governor". mma-web.org. May 23, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  13. ^ "Madison mayor endorses McDaniel for lieutenant governor over redistricting accusations". www.supertalk.fm. August 7, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  14. ^ Hess, Gideon (July 26, 2023). "Hosemann goes on counterattack at Neshoba with rowdy McDaniel crowd". Daily Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  15. ^ "Report of Contributions and Dispursements". Mississippi Secretary of State. June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "Report of Contributions and Dispursements". Mississippi Secretary of State. June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  17. ^ Mississippi Today/Siena College
  18. ^ American Strategies
  19. ^ "2023 Republican primary results". Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "2023 Democratic primary results". Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "2023 General Election Results".
edit

Official campaign websites