2015 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election

A special election for Mississippi's 1st congressional district was held on May 12, 2015, to fill the term left by the vacancy created by the death of Alan Nunnelee.[1] Nunnelee, a member of the Republican Party, died on February 6, 2015.[2]

2015 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election

June 2, 2015 (runoff)
May 12, 2015 (blanket)

Mississippi's 1st congressional district
 
Nominee Trent Kelly Walter Zinn
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 69,516 29,831
Percentage 69.97% 30.03%

U.S. Representative before election

Alan Nunnelee
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Trent Kelly
Republican

According to Mississippi state law, Governor Phil Bryant had to call the special election within 60 days of Nunnelee's death, and had to be held at least 60 days after the call. Prospective candidates had to submit a petition for ballot access consisting of at least 1,000 signatures of qualified Mississippi voters with the office of the Secretary of State of Mississippi at least 45 days before the election.[3]

The election was won by Republican Trent Kelly.

Election format

All candidates ran together on the same primary ballot, irrespective of party affiliation. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff was held on June 2 between Trent Kelly (R) and Walter Zinn (D), the top two finishers.[1][4][5]

Candidates

  • Note: Special elections in Mississippi are nonpartisan. Party identification is for informational purposes only.

Republican Party

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Democratic Party

Declared

  • Walter Zinn, attorney and political aide[18]

Declined

Libertarian Party

Did Not File

  • Danny Bedwell, businessman and Libertarian nominee for the seat in 2012 and 2014[6][21]

General election

Fundraising

Campaign Finance Reports through April 22
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on Hand Debt
Boyce Adams $358,918 $304,876 $54,041 $245,408
Sam Adcock $241,033 $123,769 $117,263 $120,000
Nancy Collins $198,421 $163,465 $34,956 $141,983
Ed Holliday $121,165 $46,903 $58,521 $100,000
Starner Jones $385,901 $327,233 $58,667 $350,000
Trent Kelly $117,703 $60,553 $57,150 $0
Chip Mills $119,250 $100,351 $18,898 $30,000
Greg Pirkle $291,010 $144,424 $146,585 $100,000
Henry Ross $92,388 $33,390 $58,696 $115,911
Daniel Sparks $27,100 $15,977 $11,123 $8,617
Mike Tagert $371,965 $245,392 $126,572 $0
Quentin Whitwell $119,965 $95,187 $24,727 $0
Walter Zinn $11,552 $8,794 $2,752 $0
Source: Federal Election Commission[22]

Results

Mississippi's 1st congressional district special general election, 2015 [23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Walter Zinn 15,385 17.41
Nonpartisan Trent Kelly 14,418 16.32
Nonpartisan Mike Tagert 11,231 12.71
Nonpartisan Greg Pirkle 7,142 8.08
Nonpartisan Starner Jones 6,993 7.91
Nonpartisan Chip Mills 6,929 7.84
Nonpartisan Henry Ross 4,313 4.88
Nonpartisan Boyce Adams 4,037 4.57
Nonpartisan Nancy Adams Collins 4,006 4.53
Nonpartisan Sam Adcock 4,000 4.53
Nonpartisan Ed "Doc" Holliday 3,958 4.48
Nonpartisan Quentin Whitwell 3,124 3.56
Nonpartisan Daniel Sparks 2,828 3.20
Total votes 88,364 100.0

Runoff election

Fundraising

Campaign Finance Reports through May 15
Candidate Raised Spent Cash on Hand Debt
Trent Kelly $145,843 $123,618 $22,225 $0
Walter Zinn $19,056 $23,597 $(4,540) $0
Source: Federal Election Commission[24]

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Trent
Kelly (R)
Walter
Zinn (D)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing May 28, 2015 509 ± 4% 54% 37% 9%

Results

Mississippi's 1st congressional district special runoff election, 2015[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Trent Kelly 69,516 69.97
Nonpartisan Walter Zinn 29,831 30.03
Total votes 99,347 100
Republican hold

County results

Vote breakdown by county
Trent Kelly
Republican
Walter Zinn
Democrat
Total
County Votes % Votes % Votes
Alcorn2,84179.25%74420.75%3,585
Benton69662.14%42437.86%1,120
Calhoun1,82072.57%68827.43%2,508
Chickasaw1,96752.18%1,80347.82%3,770
Choctaw1,14175.12%37824.88%1,519
Clay2,09246.50%2,40753.50%4,499
DeSoto9,76478.31%2,70421.69%12,468
Itawamba3,12788.53%40511.47%3,532
Lafayette3,33858.16%2,40141.84%5,739
Lee10,72373.64%3,83926.36%14,562
Lowndes5,28363.38%3,05236.62%8,335
Marshall1,93246.13%225653.87%4,188
Monroe4,11664.27%2,28835.73%6,404
Oktibbeha32064.26%17835.74%498
Pontotoc4,03872.74%1,51327.26%5,551
Prentiss2,52877.83%72022.17%3,248
Tate2,04171.82%80128.18%2,842
Tippah2,47280.26%60819.74%3,080
Tishomingo2,02684.88%36115.12%2,387
Union3,66381.96%80618.04%4,469
Webster1,72886.23%27613.77%2,004
Winston1,86061.20%1,17938.80%3,039
gollark: Also, I'm not really a "standing around in nature" person.
gollark: I don't like it as a country in general.
gollark: (How dare it not know exactly what I'm thinking at all times)
gollark: * unregulation, stupid phone
gollark: Fair, I guess you need infrastructure and relative in regulation.

References

  1. Wagster Pettus, Emily (February 24, 2015). "May 12 election set to fill north Mississippi US House seat". Associated Press. WMC-TV. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  2. "Alan Nunnelee, Mississippi congressman, dies at 56". The Clarion-Ledger. February 6, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  3. Pender, Geoff (February 6, 2015). "Governor will set election after Nunnelee's death". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  4. Cahn, Emily (February 11, 2015). "Chris McDaniel Looks to Play in Mississippi Special Election". Roll Call. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  5. Cahn, Emily (May 12, 2015). "Mississippi Special Election Heads to Runoff". Roll Call. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  6. Sam R. Hall (March 4, 2015). "Rumored, running or out for #MS01 congressional race". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  7. Guajardo, Rod (March 17, 2015). "Two more to join congressional race". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  8. "Candidates Jump into Mississippi Congressional Race". WTOK-TV. February 26, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  9. Harrison, Bobby (March 11, 2015). "ER physician enters 1st District race". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  10. "County prosecutor enters Congressional race". WTVA. March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  11. Wagster Pettus, Emily (March 12, 2015). "North Mississippi US House race grows to 11 candidates". Associated Press. Sun Herald. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  12. "MS Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert Announces Candidacy For United States Congress #MS01". Yall Politics. March 9, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  13. Wagster Pettus, Emily (February 26, 2015). "MS state Rep @ChrisBrownHD20 says he's not running for Congress bec dad's retiring & he needs to spend more time w family RV dealerships". Twitter. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  14. Gizzi, John (February 9, 2015). "Elvis Kin Could Claim Mississippi House Seat for Democrats". Newsmax Media. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  15. Harrison, Bobby (February 20, 2015). "Bryant tabs McCullough for College Board". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  16. "State Sen. David Parker will not seek MS01 seat". Yall Politics. February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  17. "MS-01: Alan Nunnelee Has Died". Red Racing Horses. February 6, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  18. Nave, R.L. (March 27, 2015). "Politico Walter Zinn to Seek 1st CD Seat". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  19. Biggs, DeMiktric (February 11, 2015). "Dems, GOP Mulling Congressional Bids in MS01". Mississippi Political Pulse. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  20. Hall, Sam R. (February 11, 2015). "Presley won't be among Congressional candidates". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  21. Easley, Jonathan (March 25, 2015). "Crowded field for open Miss. House seat". The Hill. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  22. "Summary Reports Search Results - 2015–2016 Cycle". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  23. "Total Votes Reported by County for the 2015 Special Election" (PDF). Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  24. "Summary Reports Search Results - 2015–2016 Cycle". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  25. "Total Votes Reported by County for the 2015 Special Runoff Election". Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
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