1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi


The 1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator James Eastland decided to retire. Republican Thad Cochran won the open seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Runoff results

Republican primary

Candidates

Independent

Evers was the first African American elected since the Reconstruction era to be mayor in any Mississippi city in 1969. He ran as an independent, and as a result his campaign divided the Democrats and allowed Cochran to win the senate seat with a 45 percent plurality. This made him the first Republican to win a statewide election in Mississippi in a century. Eastland resigned on December 27, 1978 to give Cochran a seniority advantage over new incoming senators.

Results