Mississippi's 4th congressional district was created in 1841, and had consistently been held by Democrats for over a century as part of the Solid South. Democrats held the 4th for 90 years since the end of Reconstruction, until the election of Republican Prentiss Walker in 1965 on the back of support from Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Thad Cochran's victory in 1972 led to longer-term Republican control of the seat and cemented GOP dominance in the district for a decade. After Cochran's 1978 election to the U.S. Senate, Jon Hinson easily held the seat for Republicans in a 1978 election.