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

← 2014 June 2, 2015 (runoff)
May 12, 2015 (blanket)
2016 →

Mississippi's 1st congressional district
 
Nominee Trent Kelly Walter Zinn
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 69,516 29,831
Percentage 70.0% 30.0%

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

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

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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

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

Republican Party

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Declared

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Withdrew

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Declined

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Democratic Party

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Declared

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  • Walter Zinn, attorney and political aide[17]

Declined

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Libertarian Party

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Did Not File

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

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[21] Solid R May 1, 2015
Inside Elections[22] Solid R March 6, 2015

Fundraising

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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[23]

Results

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Zinn
  •   10–20%
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
Kelly
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
Tagert
  •   10–20%
  •   20–30%
  •   30–40%
Pirkle
  •   40-50%
Jones
  •   20–30%
Mills
  •   50-60%
Ross
  •   30–40%
Adams
  •   20-30%
Holliday
  •   30-40%
Sparks
  •   40–50%
Mississippi's 1st congressional district special general election, 2015 [24]
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

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[25] Solid R May 15, 2015

Fundraising

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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[26]

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Trent
Kelly (R)
Walter
Zinn (D)
Undecided
Gravis Marketing[27] May 28, 2015 509 ± 4% 54% 37% 9%

Results

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Mississippi's 1st congressional district special runoff election, 2015[28]
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

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Vote breakdown by county
Trent Kelly
Republican
Walter Zinn
Democrat
Total
County Votes % Votes % Votes
Alcorn 2,841 79.25% 744 20.75% 3,585
Benton 696 62.14% 424 37.86% 1,120
Calhoun 1,820 72.57% 688 27.43% 2,508
Chickasaw 1,967 52.18% 1,803 47.82% 3,770
Choctaw 1,141 75.12% 378 24.88% 1,519
Clay 2,092 46.50% 2,407 53.50% 4,499
DeSoto 9,764 78.31% 2,704 21.69% 12,468
Itawamba 3,127 88.53% 405 11.47% 3,532
Lafayette 3,338 58.16% 2,401 41.84% 5,739
Lee 10,723 73.64% 3,839 26.36% 14,562
Lowndes 5,283 63.38% 3,052 36.62% 8,335
Marshall 1,932 46.13% 2256 53.87% 4,188
Monroe 4,116 64.27% 2,288 35.73% 6,404
Oktibbeha 320 64.26% 178 35.74% 498
Pontotoc 4,038 72.74% 1,513 27.26% 5,551
Prentiss 2,528 77.83% 720 22.17% 3,248
Tate 2,041 71.82% 801 28.18% 2,842
Tippah 2,472 80.26% 608 19.74% 3,080
Tishomingo 2,026 84.88% 361 15.12% 2,387
Union 3,663 81.96% 806 18.04% 4,469
Webster 1,728 86.23% 276 13.77% 2,004
Winston 1,860 61.20% 1,179 38.80% 3,039

References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d 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. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Sam R. Hall (March 4, 2015). "Rumored, running or out for #MS01 congressional race". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Guajardo, Rod (March 17, 2015). "Two more to join congressional race". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c 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. ^ Gravis Marketing
  28. ^ "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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