Who's on the appellate court ballot in Mississippi
6 candidates are on the ballot. One ballot can carry several appellate seats, and the note below sets out which contest is which. For each judge: the record, any official performance evaluation, and the arguments published for and against them.
No Mississippi Supreme Court seat is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. A federal judge had ordered special Supreme Court elections for this November after ruling in August 2025 that the state's Supreme Court district lines, unchanged since 1987, diluted Black voting strength; in May 2026 a federal appeals court vacated that ruling by agreement of both sides after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais changed the legal test, which removed the state's obligation to redraw the map and cancelled those special elections. What is on the ballot is the Court of Appeals. Mississippi elects its ten Court of Appeals judges from five districts, two places each, in nonpartisan elections with no party label printed — so which race a voter sees depends on where they live, and no appellate seat is voted on statewide. Five Court of Appeals seats are up, in this order by district and place: District 1, Place 1 (a special election) — appointed incumbent John Weddle against Clarksdale attorney Derek Dewayne Hopson Jr.; this is the only contested appellate race in the state and covers 23 northern Mississippi counties including DeSoto, Lafayette, Lee, Marshall, Panola and Tate. District 1, Place 2 — Donna M. Barnes, unopposed. District 2, Place 1 — Deborah A. McDonald, unopposed. District 4, Place 2 — David McCarty, unopposed. District 5, Place 1 — Anthony 'Tony' Lawrence, unopposed. Roster taken directly from the Mississippi Secretary of State's candidate qualifying list; qualifying closed February 2, 2026.
6 candidates · ballot order · John Weddle currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Prosecutorial experience as preparation for the court's criminal docket.
Continuity in the seat he was appointed to hold.
Handling the criminal and civil appeals that come from northern Mississippi trial courts.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 1, Place 1, since his appointment by Governor Tate Reeves on October 14, 2024.
District Attorney for Mississippi's First Circuit Court District before his appointment.
Qualified for the November 3, 2026 special election by the February 2, 2026 deadline, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's candidate qualifying list.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Weddle by name was found, and no endorsement of him by a named organisation was found. Searched: Mississippi Today, Magnolia Tribune, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, DeSoto County News, the Oxford Eagle and the Mississippi Judicial College.
Mississippi does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Mississippi Bar rating of the candidates was found.
No campaign website for Weddle was located.
Weddle joined the court in October 2024 and no analysis of his opinions was found.
Private practice and trial experience as a perspective the court lacks.
Access to the courts for litigants in northern Mississippi.
Handling the criminal and civil appeals that come from northern Mississippi trial courts.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Founding attorney, Hopson Law Group.
Bachelor's degree, University of Southern Mississippi; law degree, University of Mississippi School of Law.
Licensed in Mississippi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Member of the Mississippi Bar, the American Bar Association, the Magnolia Bar Association and the NAACP.
Was a candidate for Coahoma County Justice Court Judge, Southern District, in 2023.
Qualified for the November 3, 2026 special election by the February 2, 2026 deadline, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's candidate qualifying list.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Hopson by name was found, and no endorsement of him by a named organisation was found. Searched: Mississippi Today, Magnolia Tribune, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, DeSoto County News, the Clarksdale Press Register and the Oxford Eagle.
No campaign website for Hopson was located.
Hopson has no judicial record, so there are no opinions to describe.
Mississippi does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission.
Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 1, Place 2; has served as chief judge of the court.
The only candidate to qualify for this seat by the February 2, 2026 deadline, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's candidate qualifying list; she appears unopposed on the November ballot.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
The race is uncontested and no organised campaign for or against Barnes was found. Searched: Mississippi Today, Magnolia Tribune, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and the Mississippi Secretary of State's qualifying list.
Mississippi does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Mississippi Bar rating was found.
No campaign website or 2026 campaign statement was located.
Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 2, Place 1.
The only candidate to qualify for this seat by the February 2, 2026 deadline, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's candidate qualifying list; she appears unopposed on the November ballot.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
The race is uncontested and no organised campaign for or against McDonald was found. Searched: Mississippi Today, Magnolia Tribune, the Natchez Democrat, the Vicksburg Post and the Mississippi Secretary of State's qualifying list.
Mississippi does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Mississippi Bar rating was found.
No campaign website or 2026 campaign statement was located.
Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 4, Place 2.
The only candidate to qualify for this seat by the February 2, 2026 deadline, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's candidate qualifying list; he appears unopposed on the November ballot.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
The race is uncontested and no organised campaign for or against McCarty was found. Searched: Mississippi Today, Magnolia Tribune, the Clarion Ledger and the Mississippi Secretary of State's qualifying list.
Mississippi does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Mississippi Bar rating was found.
No campaign website or 2026 campaign statement was located.
Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 5, Place 1.
Served as a district attorney on the Mississippi Gulf Coast before joining the court.
The only candidate to qualify for this seat by the February 2, 2026 deadline, according to the Mississippi Secretary of State's candidate qualifying list; he appears unopposed on the November ballot.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
The race is uncontested and no organised campaign for or against Lawrence was found. Searched: Mississippi Today, Magnolia Tribune, the Sun Herald, WLOX and the Mississippi Secretary of State's qualifying list.
Mississippi does not run an official judicial performance evaluation commission, and no Mississippi Bar rating was found.
No campaign website or 2026 campaign statement was located.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Mississippi ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Mississippi Secretary of State.