2015 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election

See also: 2015 Mississippi elections

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

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

• Boyce Adams, nominee for the Northern District of the Mississippi Public Service Commission in 2011^[6]
• Sam Adcock, businessman^[7]
• Nancy Adams Collins, state senator^[6][8]
• Ed "Doc" Holliday, dentist^[7]
• Starner Jones, emergency room physician^[9]
• Trent Kelly, (Lee, Pontotoc, Alcorn, Monroe, Itawamba, Prentiss and Tishomingo Counties) District Attorney^[8]
• Chip Mills, Itawamba County Prosecutor^[6][10]
• Greg Pirkle, attorney^[6] and son of Estus Pirkle
• Henry Ross, former mayor of Eupora and candidate for the seat in 2010 and 2012^[11]
• Daniel Sparks, attorney^[6]
• Mike Tagert, Northern District Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Transportation^[6][12]
• Quentin Whitwell, former Jackson City Councilman^[8]

Withdrew

• Chris Brown, state representative^[13]

Declined

• Lynn Fitch, Mississippi State Treasurer^[4]
• Merle Flowers, former state senator^[4]
• Tommy Irwin, mayor of Corinth^[6]
• Chip Johnson, mayor of Hernando^[6]
• James Maxwell, judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals^{[citation needed]}
• Brad Mayo, state representative^[6]
• Glenn McCullough, former mayor of Tupelo, former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority and candidate for the seat in 2008^[14]
• Mandy McGrevey Gunasekara, counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works^[6]
• Joseph Murray, attorney and author^[6]
• Tori Nunnelee, widow of former Congressman Alan Nunnelee^[6]
• John Oxford, director of Corporate Communication for Renasant Bank^[6]
• David Parker, state senator^[15]
• Amanda Tollison, attorney^[4]
• Gray Tollison, state senator^[6]
• Amy Tuck, former Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi^[16]
• Todd Wade, former NFL player^[6]

Democratic Party

Declared

• Walter Zinn, attorney and political aide^[17]

Declined

• Hob Bryan, state senator^[18]
• Travis Childers, former U.S. Representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014^[6]
• Steve Holland, state representative^[16]
• Eric Powell, former state senator^[18]
• Brandon Presley, Public Service Commissioner and former mayor of Nettleton (ran for re-election)^[19]
• Scott Ross, former mayor of West Point^[18]
• Jason Shelton, Mayor of Tupelo^[6]

Libertarian Party

Did Not File

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

General election

Predictions

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

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[23]

Results

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

Predictions

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

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[26]

Polling

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

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

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

1. 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. 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. 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". 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. "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. 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.

External links

• Trent Kelly campaign website
• Walter Zinn campaign website