2015 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election
# 2015 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election

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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. Nunnelee, a member of the Republican Party, died on February 6, 2015.

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.

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.

## 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
* Sam Adcock, businessman
* Nancy Adams Collins, state senator
* Ed "Doc" Holliday, dentist
* Starner Jones, emergency room physician
* Trent Kelly, (Lee, Pontotoc, Alcorn, Monroe, Itawamba, Prentiss and Tishomingo Counties) District Attorney
* Chip Mills, Itawamba County Prosecutor
* Greg Pirkle, attorney and son of Estus Pirkle
* Henry Ross, former mayor of Eupora and candidate for the seat in 2010 and 2012
* Daniel Sparks, attorney
* Mike Tagert, Northern District Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Transportation
* Quentin Whitwell, former Jackson City Councilman

**Withdrew**

* Chris Brown, state representative

**Declined**

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

### Democratic Party

**Declared**

* Walter Zinn, attorney and political aide

**Declined**

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

### Libertarian Party

**Did Not File**

* Danny Bedwell, businessman and Libertarian nominee for the seat in 2012 and 2014

## General election

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| - | - | - |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid R | May 1, 2015 |
| Inside Elections | 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 |||||

### Results

Mississippi's 1st congressional district special general election, 2015 :

| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 88,364 | 100.0 |

## Runoff election

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| - | - | - |
| The Cook Political Report | 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 |||||

### 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 :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Nonpartisan | Trent Kelly | 69,516 | 69.97 |
| | Nonpartisan | Walter Zinn | 29,831 | 30.03 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 99,347 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### County results

Vote breakdown by county :

| | Trent Kelly Republican | Trent Kelly Republican | Walter Zinn Democrat | 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 |
