Mississippi's 2nd congressional district

For other uses, see MS-2 (disambiguation).

Mississippi's 2nd congressional district
Current Representative		Bennie Thompson (D–Bolton)
Area	14,519.68 mi² (37,605.80 km²)
Distribution	62.67% urban, 37.33% rural
Population (2006)	711,164
Median income	$26,894
Ethnicity	35.0% White, 63.5% Black, 0.4% Asian, 1.2% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% other
Cook PVI	D+10

Mississippi's 2nd congressional district (MS-2) is the only majority-black district in the state, covering much of western Mississippi. The district includes most of Jackson as well as the cities of Clarksdale, Greenville, Greenwood, Clinton and Vicksburg. The district is approximately 275 miles (443 km) long, 180 miles (290 km) wide and borders the Mississippi River.

From statehood to the election of 1846, Mississippi elected representatives at-large statewide on a general ticket.

Its current representative is Democrat Bennie Thompson.

Mississippi's 2nd congressional district election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Bennie Thompson (inc.)	105,327	61.47%
	Republican	Bill Marcy	64,499	37.64%
	Reform	Ashley Norwood	1,530	0.89%
Totals			171,356	100.00%
	Democratic hold

The district from 2003 to 2013

Election results

2008

United States House election, 2008: Mississippi District 2
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie G. Thompson	201,606	69.05	+4.78
	Republican	Richard Cook	90,364	30.95	-4.78
Turnout			291,970
Majority			111,242	38.10

2006

United States House election, 2006: Mississippi District 2
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie G. Thompson	100,168	64.27	+5.89
	Republican	Yvonne R. Brown	55,672	35.73	-4.91
Turnout			155,832
Majority			44,496	28.55

2004

United States House election, 2004: Mississippi District 2
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie G. Thompson	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

2002

United States House election, 2002: Mississippi District 2
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie G. Thompson	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

2000

United States House election, 2000: Mississippi District 2
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bennie G. Thompson	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

List of representatives

Name	Years of Service	Party	District Home	Notes
District created March 4, 1845
Stephen Adams	March 4, 1845 - March 3, 1847	Democratic
Winfield S. Featherston	March 4, 1847 - March 3, 1851	Democratic
John A. Wilcox	March 4, 1851 - March 3, 1853	Unionist
William T. S. Barry	March 4, 1853 - March 3, 1855	Democratic
Hendley S. Bennett	March 4, 1855 - March 3, 1857	Democratic
Reuben Davis	March 4, 1857 - January 12, 1861	Democratic		Withdrew
Civil War and Reconstruction
Joseph L. Morphis	February 23, 1870 - March 3, 1873	Republican
Albert R. Howe	March 4, 1873 - March 3, 1875	Republican
G. Wiley Wells	March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1877	Independent Republican
Van H. Manning	March 4, 1877 - March 3, 1883	Democratic
Vacant		March 4, 1883 - June 25, 1884
James R. Chalmers	June 25, 1884 - March 3, 1885	Independent		Seated after contested election with Van H. Manning
James B. Morgan	March 4, 1885 - March 3, 1891	Democratic
John C. Kyle	March 4, 1891 - March 3, 1897	Democratic
William V. Sullivan	March 4, 1897 - May 31, 1898	Democratic		Appointed U.S. Senator
Vacant		May 31, 1898 - July 5, 1898
Thomas Spight	July 5, 1898 - March 3, 1911	Democratic
Hubert D. Stephens	March 4, 1911 - March 3, 1921	Democratic
Bill G. Lowrey	March 4, 1921 - March 3, 1929	Democratic
Wall Doxey	March 4, 1929 - September 23, 1941	Democratic		Elected to U.S. Senate
Vacant		September 23, 1941 - November 4, 1941
Jamie Whitten	November 4, 1941 - January 3, 1973	Democratic		Redistricted to the 1st district
David R. Bowen	January 3, 1973 - January 3, 1983	Democratic
William Franklin	January 3, 1983 - January 3, 1987	Republican
Mike Espy	January 3, 1987 - January 22, 1993	Democratic		Resigned after being appointed as United States Secretary of Agriculture
Vacant		January 22, 1993 - April 13, 1993
Bennie Thompson	April 13, 1993–Present	Democratic		Incumbent

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