Mississippi Senate

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The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate is composed of 52 Senators representing an equal amount of constituent districts, with 54,704 people per district (2000 figures). Senators serve four-year terms with no term limits.

Like other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards.

The Senate convenes in the State Capitol in Jackson.

Contents 1 Senate defined by law 2 Leadership of the Senate 3 Current composition 3.1 Members of the Mississippi Senate 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Senate defined by law

According to the current Mississippi Constitution of 1890, the Senate is to be comprised of no more than 52 members elected for four-year terms. Elections to the Senate are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November during the state general elections.

[edit] Leadership of the Senate

The Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi serves as the President of the Senate, but only casts a legislative vote if required to break a tie. In his or her absence, the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate. The President Pro Tempore is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the entire Senate through a Senate Resolution. Unlike other upper houses in state legislatures, the President Pro Tempore's power is limited. The Lieutenant Governor has the sole ability to appoint the chairmanships or vice chairmanships of various Senate committees, regardless of party size. The other Senate majority and minority leaders are elected by their respective party caucuses.

The President of the Senate is Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck. The President Pro Tempore is Republican Travis Lane Little of the 4th District.

[edit] Current composition

Affiliation		Members
	Republican Party	26
	Democratic Party	26
Total		52
Majority		0

The current composition of the Senate is evenly divided – 26 Democrats and 26 Republicans. This is due to the party switch of Senator James Shannon Walley of Leakesville. Walley was elected as a Democrat in 2003 to represent District 43, which includes George, Greene, Stone, and Wayne counties, then announced he was switching parties and won re-election as a Republican. Because the Lieutenant Governor, Amy Tuck, is a Republican (and also a previous party switcher), this gives Republicans control of the Senate for the first time since Reconstruction and a defacto majority only when voting is strictly tied.

[edit] Members of the Mississippi Senate

District	Name	Party
1st	Doug E. Davis	R
2nd	Ralph H. Doxey	R
3rd	Nickey Browning	D
4th	Travis Little	R
5th	J. P. Wilemon	D
6th	Alan Nunnelee	R
7th	Hob Bryan	D
8th	Carl Jackson Gordon, Jr.	D
9th	Gray Tollison	D
10th	H. Nolan Mettetal	D
11th	Robert L. Jackson	D
12th	Johnnie E. Walls, Jr.	D
13th	Willie Lee Simmons	D
14th	Lydia Chassaniol	R
15th	Gary Jackson	R
16th	Bennie L. Turner	D
17th	Terry W. Brown	R
18th	Gloria Chisholm Williamson	D
19th	Merle Flowers	R
20th	Charles Edwin Ross	R
21st	Joseph C. Thomas	D
22nd	Eugene S. Clarke	R
23rd	Michael Jackson Chaney	R
24th	David Lee Jordan	D
25th	J. Walter Michel	R
26th	John A. Horhn	D
27th	Hillman Terome Frazier	D
28th	Alice Varnado Harden	D
29th	Richard G. White	R
30th	Dean Kirby	R
31st	Terry Clark Burton	R
32nd	Sampson Jackson II	D
33rd	Fredie Videt Carmichael	R
34th	Billy Howard Thames	D
35th	Perry Lee	R
36th	Lynn Irvin Posey	D
37th	Bob M. Dearing	D
38th	Kelvin Butler	D
39th	Cindy Hyde-Smith	D
40th	Sidney Albritton	R
41st	Joey Fillingane	R
42nd	Stacey E. Pickering	R
43rd	James "Shannon" Walley	R
44th	Thomas E. King, Jr.	R
45th	J. Ed Morgan	R
46th	Scottie Revette Cuevas	D
47th	Ezell Lee	D
48th	Deborah Dawkins	D
49th	William Gardner Hewes, III	R
50th	Thomas Arlin Gollot	R
51st	Thomas Edward Robertson	R
52nd	Tommy O. Moffatt	R

[edit] See also

• Mississippi State Capitol
• Mississippi Legislature
• Mississippi House of Representatives

[edit] External links

• Mississippi Senate

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