Melanie Sojourner

Melanie Sojourner
Mississippi Senate District 37
Incumbent
In office
2012 - Present
Term ends
January 3, 2016
Years in position	1
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$10,000/year
Per diem	$109/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 8, 2011
First elected	November 8, 2011
Next election	November 3, 2015
Term limits	N/A
Education
High school	Adams County Christian School
Bachelor's	Louisiana State University
Associate's	Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Personal
Birthday	January 5, 1968
Place of birth	Centreville, Mississippi
Profession	Agricultural administration
Religion	Baptist
Websites
Office website

Melanie Sojourner is a Republican member of the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 37th Senatorial District. She joined the Mississippi State Senate in 2012 and has served in that position since.

Growing up on Oakwood Plantation, the state's oldest family farm still in operation, Sojourner was active in the agriculture industry from a young age. She began her career as a production assistant for a Walk Disney production company that was filming the Adventures of Huck Finn in her hometown, and shortly thereafter took a position in the membership department of the Mississippi Cattlemen's Association. She later worked for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. She currently runs a small commercial cow/calf operation.

Sojourner received an AS from Copiah-Lincoln Community College and a BS in animal science from Louisiana State University.

Elections

2011

See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2011

Sojourner won the 2011 election for Mississippi Senate District 37. She defeated Stephen Oglesby in the primary on August 2, 2011. Incumbent Robert Dearing ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Sojourner defeated Dearing in the general election on November 8, 2011.

Mississippi State Senate, District 37 General Election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Melanie Sojourner	51.1%	10,272
	Democrat	Robert Dearing Incumbent	48.9%	9,814
Total Votes				20,086

Mississippi State Senate, District 37 Republican Primary, 2011
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Melanie Sojourner	65.1%	1,848
Stephen Oglesby	34.9%	990
Total Votes		2,838

Campaign donors

2011

In 2011, Sojourner received $90,547 in campaign donations. The top contributors are listed below.

Mississippi State Senate 2011 election - Campaign Contributions
Top contributors to Melanie Sojourner's campaign in 2011
Mississippi Republican Party	$10,108
Mississippi Medical Association	$6,325
Improve Mississippi	$5,039
Big River Farms	$5,000
Heard, Bruce	$5,000
Total Raised in 2011	$90,547
Total Votes received in 2011	10,272
Cost of each vote received	$8.81

Issues

Campaign themes

2011

Campaign ad from October 2011.

On her campaign website, Sojourner explains the issues that inform her decision to run:

• "I'm running for Senate District 37 because I believe in southwest Mississippi and what our region and people have to offer. I care deeply about our future, our children’s future. I believe in the difference we can make when we listen to each other, work together across boundaries, share ideas and thoughts to develop sound plans and initiatives that provide for a strong small business environment, promote economic development, create jobs and improve our educational systems. I believe in a limited non-intrusive government that protects our rights, doesn’t try to create them and certainly doesn’t take them away."
• "If you would allow me the opportunity to serve as your next senator of District 37 I will take the values and work ethic I’ve acquired being raised on a sixth generation family farm and put them to work for our region, improving our educational system, protecting private property rights and working to create an environment that supports strong small businesses. I will work tirelessly to grow Mississippi’s economy by attracting new industries and creating more jobs to help secure that future generations of southwest Mississippians will always have a thriving community to call home. And in every decision I make I will never sacrifice our core traditional conservative values and beliefs."

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Melanie Sojourner endorsed Newt Gingrich in the 2012 presidential election.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Melanie + Sojourner + Minnesota + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Personal

Sojourner has two children.

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign website
• Campaign page on Facebook
• Sojourner on Twitter
• Sojourner for Senate's YouTube channel

References

Political offices
Preceded by Robert Dearing	Mississippi State Senate District 37 2012–present	Succeeded by NA