 Mitchell won election to the South Carolina Senate for District 7 in 1984 and served as a chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee during his tenure.Mitchell sought to emulate the recent successes of black politicians such as Jesse Jackson and Douglas Wilder by announcing his candidacy in January for the South Carolina gubernatorial election of 1990.He faced a Democratic primary challenge from State Senator Ernie Passailaigue, but Mitchell won easily thanks in large part due to the support of black voters.