A general election was held in Mississippi on November 4, 2003, to elect to four-year terms all members of the state legislature (122 representatives, 52 senators), the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, secretary of state, commissioner of agriculture and commerce, and commissioner of insurance, plus all three members of the Transportation Commission and all three members of the Public Service Commission.

The state legislature draws up separate district map for the House of Representatives and for the Senate every 10 years following each census.

[1] According to Article 5, Sections 140-41 of the state constitution, the governor and the other seven statewide officers are elected if they receive a majority of electoral votes and a majority of the direct total popular vote.

In 1999, Lieutenant Governor Musgrove, won the gubernatorial election against Republican Mike Parker, a former U.S. representative, in a close election that necessitated the Mississippi House of Representatives to decide the outcome because of a tie in the electoral votes.

Musgrove lost his re-election bid in 2003 to Barbour after a competitive race.

Moore's protégé Jim Hood faced Republican Scott Newton.

Marshall Bennett Democratic Tate Reeves Republican Four-term Democrat Marshall Bennett resigned in early 2003 to join a New York City law firm and was replaced by Peyton Prospere, who was appointed by Governor Musgrove to complete the term.