1988Flipped from DemocraticFinal results

1988 election for U.S. Senate in Mississippi

Name: 1988 election for U.S. Senate in Mississippi
Start: 1988-11-08
Location: Mississippi

U.S. Senate · Mississippi

Trent Lott (R) won with 53.9% of the vote, defeating Wayne Dowdy (D) by 7.8 points, a seat Democrats won last time.

Trent LottRepublican · winner

53.9%510,380

46.1%436,339

946,719 votes

Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET

The seat over time

D − R margin in this seat's races around 1988

Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET

Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.

Wayne DowdyTrent Lott

$2.2M

Raised by the campaign

$3.6M

$2.4M

Spent by the campaign

$3.4M

$13.7K

Cash on hand

$197.2K

Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1988.

Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1988