The Mississippi State Legislature
The Legislature consists of two chambers: a 52-member Senate and a 122-member House of Representatives. The most recent election for the State Legislature was in 2015. The next election will take place November 5, 2019. In order to run for the House, a candidate must be 21 years old. For the Senate, the age requirement is 25 years old.
Mississippi Demographic Background
The largest generation in Mississippi is the Baby Boomer Generation (24.30%), followed by the Millennial Generation (22.80%).1, 2 About 20% of the population belong to Generation X. The smallest generation is the Silent Generation, consisting of 11.40% of the population. About 57% of people in Mississippi are White or Caucasian, 37.50% are Black or African American, 3% are Hispanic or Latino, and less than 1% are Asian.3
Generational Breakdown of the Mississippi State Legislature
The average age of a Mississippi state legislator is 57.3 years. The largest generation represented in the legislature are Baby Boomers, followed by Generation X. Both generations are overrepresented in comparison to the makeup of the state’s population. Less than 6% of all legislators are Millennials, making it the smallest generation in the legislature. Almost 10% belong to the Silent Generation. Six legislators are Young Elected Leaders age 35 or younger.
Generational Breakdown of the Mississippi House of Representatives
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millenial Generation | 9 | 7.43% |
| Generation X | 40 | 33.06% |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 54 | 44.63% |
| Silent Generation | 12 | 9.92% |
| NA* | 6 | 5.00% |
Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.
- The average age of the Mississippi House of Representatives is 56.7
- The youngest member is 27 years old (Jeramey DeWayne Anderson )
- The oldest member is 88 years old (William C. Denney Jr.)
- Five individuals are Young Elected Leaders
- Jeramey DeWayne Anderson, age: 27 years old
- Noah L. Sanford, age: 29 years old
- Shane Barnett, age: 32 years old
- Orlando W. Paden, age: 34 years old
- Roun McNeal, age: 34 years old
Generational Breakdown of the Minnesota State Senate
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millenial Generation | 1 | 1.96% |
| Generation X | 20 | 39.22% |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 23 | 45.10% |
| Silent Generation | 5 | 9.80% |
| NA* | 2 | 3.90% |
Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.
- The average age of the Mississippi Senate is 58.9
- The youngest member is 31 years old (Neil S. Whaley)
- The oldest member is 86 years old (David Lee Jordan)
- One individual is a Young Elected Leader
- Neil S. Whaley, age: 31 years old
Gender Breakdown of the Mississippi State Legislature
Women are vastly underrepresented in the legislature: Approximately 12.5% of members of the Mississippi House of Representatives and about 17.6% of members of the Mississippi Senate are women. Female legislators are on average almost 3 years younger than their male colleagues. All 6 Young Elected Leaders in the legislature are male.
Gender of the Mississippi House of Representatives
Gender by Generation in the Mississippi House of Representatives
Gender of the Mississippi State Senate
Gender by Generation in Mississippi State Senate
Ethnic Breakdown of the Mississippi State Legislature
The majority of the Mississippi legislature is White/Caucasian (68.6%). Almost 50 legislators, 27.9%, are Black/African American. One legislator identifies as Hispanic/Latino and one as other/multiple ethnicities. There are 4 legislators for which we do not have information on their ethnic background.
Ethnicity of the Mississippi House Representatives
Ethnicity by Generation in the Mississippi House of Representatives
Ethnicity of Young Elected Leaders in the Mississippi House of Representatives
There are two Young Elected Leaders in the Mississippi House of Representatives who are Black/African-American and three which are Caucasian/White.
Ethnicity of the Mississippi State Senate
Ethnicity by Generation in Mississippi State Senate
Ethnicity of Young Elected Leaders in Mississippi State Senate
The only Young Elected Leader in the Mississippi State Senate is White/Caucasian.
Partisan Breakdown of the Mississippi State Legislature
A majority of the members of the Mississippi House of Representatives and Mississippi State Senate are Republican. Out of the 6 Young Elected Leaders in the Mississippi state legislature, two are Republicans, while the other 4 are Democrats.
Partisanship of the Mississippi House Representatives
Partisanship by Generation of the Mississippi House of Representatives
Partisanship of the Mississippi State Senate
Partisanship by Generation of the Mississippi State Senate
Partisanship of Young Elected Leaders in Mississippi State Senate
The only Young Elected Leader in the Mississippi State Senate is a Republican.
Notes
- The Young Elected Leaders Project collects and analyzes data on young elected officials across the country. We define Young Elected Leaders as officials 35 years and younger. We define the generations following the Pew Research Center:
- Generation Z: 1997-2012
- Millennial Generation: 1981-1996
- Generation X: 1965-1980
- Baby Boom Generation: 1946-1964
- Silent Generation: 1928-1945
2. Single Years of Age and Sex, 2010, US Census.
3. Demographic and Housing Estimates (Age, Sex, Race, Households and Housing, …) 2017, US Census.
This analysis is based on data from May 2019 and was conducted on May 26, 2019.