Mississippi 85th State House District, Mississippi: Populist district. In 2024, voted D+23%. Democratic peak: D+94 in 1916.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+23MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 27,2452024 5-year
- Median household income
- $46,9152024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 32.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 63.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+94 in 1916MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+78 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State House District 85, MSOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 7,305 | 4,571 | 11,992 | ||
| D | 9,045 | 4,906 | 14,143 | ||
| D | 8,687 | 4,574 | 13,429 | ||
| D | 10,655 | 4,837 | 15,575 | ||
| D | 10,385 | 5,266 | 15,750 | ||
| D | 8,800 | 5,560 | 14,450 | ||
| D | 7,854 | 5,155 | 13,165 | ||
| D | 8,080 | 4,202 | 12,979 | ||
| D | 7,718 | 4,797 | 13,542 | ||
| D | 7,235 | 5,971 | 13,312 | ||
| D | 7,665 | 6,318 | 14,070 | ||
| D | 7,499 | 5,117 | 12,889 | ||
| D | 6,438 | 4,566 | 11,397 | ||
| R | 4,056 | 5,935 | 10,235 | ||
| D | 4,847 | 1,049 | 10,616 | ||
| R | 597 | 4,844 | 5,440 | ||
| O | 1,131 | 917 | 4,118 | ||
| D | 1,446 | 1,017 | 3,436 | ||
| R | 1,923 | 2,042 | 3,965 | ||
| O | 136 | 92 | 2,965 | ||
| D | 2,506 | 161 | 2,667 | ||
| D | 2,581 | 99 | 2,691 | ||
| D | 2,596 | 83 | 2,683 | ||
| D | 2,189 | 85 | 2,283 | ||
| D | 2,294 | 296 | 2,591 | ||
| D | 1,612 | 145 | 1,757 | ||
| D | 1,202 | 151 | 1,359 | ||
| D | 1,337 | 35 | 1,378 | ||
| D | 1,057 | 20 | 1,156 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| D | 1,030 | 80 | 1,133 | ||
| D | 1,347 | 102 | 1,538 | ||
| D | 957 | 30 | 1,141 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
5.7%
American
4.5%
Irish
4.1%
German
2.8%
Scottish
1.4%
Italian
0.8%
French
0.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 39.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$46,915
State House District 85 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State House District 85$46,915
Mississippi$56,447
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
25.6%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1837.0%
Working age (18–64)22.6%
Seniors (65+)18.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.8%
speak English only
Spanish1.2%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Other languages0.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Mississippi 85th State House District sits in the Deep South. For most of the post-war period it was a Democratic district — its working-class profile gave it the same political habits as much of its region. That identity has shifted decisively in the last twenty years.
The Democratic margin in Mississippi 85th State House District peaked at ninety-four points in 1916. By 1976 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-three points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $46,915 sits well below state and national norms, and 26% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State House District 85, Mississippi. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/28085/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State House District 85, Mississippi vote in 2024?
In 2024, State House District 85, Mississippi voted Democratic by 22.8 points (D+23), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 11,992 votes cast, 7,305 went Democratic and 4,571 went Republican.
What is State House District 85, Mississippi's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State House District 85, Mississippi as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 27 times, Republican 3 times, and other 2 times.
When did State House District 85, Mississippi last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which State House District 85, Mississippi voted Republican was 1972.
How many people live in State House District 85, Mississippi?
State House District 85, Mississippi has a population of 27,245 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State House District 85, Mississippi?
Median household income in State House District 85, Mississippi is $46,915 — below the national median of $80,734. The Mississippi state median is $56,447.
What is the political history of State House District 85, Mississippi?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State House District 85, Mississippi from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 27 went Democratic and 3 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.