2015 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election

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2015 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election
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May 12, 2015 (blanket)		 2016  →
Mississippi's 1st congressional district
  Trent Kelly official congressional photo (cropped).jpg No image.svg
Nominee Trent Kelly Walter Zinn
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote69,51629,831
Percentage70.0%30.0%
Mississippi 1st District 2015 special.svg
Runoff results by county
Kelly:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Zinn:     50–60%
U.S. Representative before election

Alan Nunnelee
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Trent Kelly
Republican

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]

Contents

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

Republican Party

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Democratic Party

Declared

  • Walter Zinn, attorney and political aide [17]

Declined

Libertarian Party

Did Not File

  • Danny Bedwell, businessman and Libertarian nominee for the seat in 2012 and 2014 [6] [20]

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [21] Solid RMay 1, 2015
Inside Elections [22] Solid RMarch 6, 2015

Fundraising

Campaign Finance Reports through April 22
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on HandDebt
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 [23]

Results

Mississippi's 1st congressional district special general election, 2015 [24]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Walter Zinn 15,385 17.41
Nonpartisan Trent Kelly 14,418 16.32
Nonpartisan Mike Tagert11,23112.71
Nonpartisan Greg Pirkle7,1428.08
Nonpartisan Starner Jones6,9937.91
Nonpartisan Chip Mills6,9297.84
Nonpartisan Henry Ross4,3134.88
Nonpartisan Boyce Adams4,0374.57
Nonpartisan Nancy Adams Collins 4,0064.53
Nonpartisan Sam Adcock4,0004.53
Nonpartisan Ed "Doc" Holliday3,9584.48
Nonpartisan Quentin Whitwell3,1243.56
Nonpartisan Daniel Sparks2,8283.20
Total votes88,364 100.0

Runoff election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [25] Solid RMay 15, 2015

Fundraising

Campaign Finance Reports through May 15
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on HandDebt
Trent Kelly$145,843$123,618$22,225$0
Walter Zinn$19,056$23,597$(4,540)$0
Source: Federal Election Commission [26]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin of
error		Trent
Kelly (R)		Walter
Zinn (D)		Undecided
Gravis Marketing May 28, 2015509± 4%54%37%9%

Results

Mississippi's 1st congressional district special runoff election, 2015 [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Trent Kelly 69,516 69.97
Nonpartisan Walter Zinn29,83130.03
Total votes99,347 100
Republican hold

County results

Vote breakdown by county
Trent Kelly
Republican 		Walter Zinn
Democrat 		Total
CountyVotes %Votes %Votes
Alcorn 2,84179.25%74420.75%3,585
Benton 69662.14%42437.86%1,120
Calhoun 1,82072.57%68827.43%2,508
Chickasaw 1,96752.18%1,80347.82%3,770
Choctaw 1,14175.12%37824.88%1,519
Clay 2,09246.50%2,40753.50%4,499
DeSoto 9,76478.31%2,70421.69%12,468
Itawamba 3,12788.53%40511.47%3,532
Lafayette 3,33858.16%2,40141.84%5,739
Lee 10,72373.64%3,83926.36%14,562
Lowndes 5,28363.38%3,05236.62%8,335
Marshall 1,93246.13%225653.87%4,188
Monroe 4,11664.27%2,28835.73%6,404
Oktibbeha 32064.26%17835.74%498
Pontotoc 4,03872.74%1,51327.26%5,551
Prentiss 2,52877.83%72022.17%3,248
Tate 2,04171.82%80128.18%2,842
Tippah 2,47280.26%60819.74%3,080
Tishomingo 2,02684.88%36115.12%2,387
Union 3,66381.96%80618.04%4,469
Webster 1,72886.23%27613.77%2,004
Winston 1,86061.20%1,17938.80%3,039

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References

  1. 1 2 Wagster Pettus, Emily (February 24, 2015). "May 12 election set to fill north Mississippi US House seat". WMC-TV. Associated Press. 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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Sam R. Hall (March 4, 2015). "Rumored, running or out for #MS01 congressional race". The Clarion-Ledger . Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Guajardo, Rod (March 17, 2015). "Two more to join congressional race". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal . Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "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". Sun Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. 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. ↑ Harrison, Bobby (February 20, 2015). "Bryant tabs McCullough for College Board". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal . Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  15. ↑ "State Sen. David Parker will not seek MS01 seat". Yall Politics. February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  16. 1 2 "MS-01: Alan Nunnelee Has Died". Red Racing Horses. February 6, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  17. ↑ Nave, R.L. (March 27, 2015). "Politico Walter Zinn to Seek 1st CD Seat". Jackson Free Press . Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 Biggs, DeMiktric (February 11, 2015). "Dems, GOP Mulling Congressional Bids in MS01". Mississippi Political Pulse. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  19. ↑ Hall, Sam R. (February 11, 2015). "Presley won't be among Congressional candidates". The Clarion-Ledger . Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  20. ↑ Easley, Jonathan (March 25, 2015). "Crowded field for open Miss. House seat". The Hill. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  21. ↑ Dave Wasserman (May 1, 2015). "Uncertainty Reigns as MS-01 Special Approaches" . Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Mississippi 1 Special: Republicans Avoid '08 Redo". The Rothenberg Political Report. March 6, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Summary Reports Search Results - 2015–2016 Cycle". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Total Votes Reported by County for the 2015 Special Election" (PDF). Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  25. ↑ Dave Wasserman (May 15, 2015). "MS-01: Kelly Virtually Assured of Runoff Victory" . Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Summary Reports Search Results - 2015–2016 Cycle". fec.gov. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Total Votes Reported by County for the 2015 Special Runoff Election". Mississippi Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
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