Johnny DuPree

Johnny DuPree

Democratic Party

Candidate, Mississippi State Senate District 45

Prior offices

Forrest County Board of Supervisors

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Mayor of Hattiesburg

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

University of Southern Mississippi

Graduate

University of Southern Mississippi

Ph.D

Jackson State University, 2006

Personal

Profession

Business owner

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Johnny DuPree (Democratic Party) is running in a special election to the Mississippi State Senate to represent District 45. He is on the ballot in the special general election on November 4, 2025. The Democratic primary for this office on August 5, 2025, was canceled.

DuPree (Democratic Party) was the Mayor of Hattiesburg. He assumed office in 2001. He left office in 2017.

Biography

DuPree was born in Fort Benning, Georgia. DuPree earned a B.S. and M.S. in political science from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. in higher education from Jackson State University in 2006. His career experience includes co-founding and co-owning DuPree Realty and working with Sears & Roebuck. DuPree served as the mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on the Hattiesburg Public School Board, and on the Forrest County Board of Supervisors.

Political career

Hattiesburg Mayor (2001-2017)

DuPree served as mayor of Hattiesburg from 2001 to 2017.

Forrest County Board of Supervisors (1991-2001)

In 1991, he was elected to the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, where he served for ten years until his election as mayor of Hattiesburg in 2001.

Hattiesburg Public School Board (1987-1991)

DuPree was first appointed to the Hattiesburg Public School Board in 1987.

Elections

2025

See also: Mississippi state legislative special elections, 2025

General election

Special general election for Mississippi State Senate District 45

Johnny DuPree and Anna Rush are running in the special general election for Mississippi State Senate District 45 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Johnny DuPree (D)
	Submit photo	Anna Rush (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Johnny DuPree advanced from the special Democratic primary for Mississippi State Senate District 45.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Anna Rush advanced from the special Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 45.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: Mississippi's 4th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4

Mike Ezell defeated Johnny DuPree and Alden Johnson in the general election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Ezell (R)	73.3	127,813
		Johnny DuPree (D)	24.6	42,876
		Alden Johnson (L)	2.0	3,569

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 174,258
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Aaron Lee (Independent)
• Graham Hudson (Independent)

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Mississippi District 4

Mike Ezell defeated incumbent Steven Palazzo in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Ezell	53.8	31,225
		Steven Palazzo	46.2	26,849

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 58,074
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4

Johnny DuPree defeated David Sellers in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Johnny DuPree	84.9	9,952
		David Sellers	15.1	1,766

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,718
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steven Palazzo	31.5	16,387
✔		Mike Ezell	25.0	13,020
		Clay Wagner	22.5	11,698
		Brice Wiggins	9.3	4,859
		Carl Boyanton	6.2	3,224
		Raymond Brooks	4.6	2,405
		Kidron Peterson	0.9	449

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 52,042
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Louis Hook (R)

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Alden Johnson advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4.

2019

See also: Mississippi Secretary of State election, 2019

General election

General election for Mississippi Secretary of State

Michael D. Watson Jr. defeated Johnny DuPree in the general election for Mississippi Secretary of State on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael D. Watson Jr. (R)	58.8	511,249
		Johnny DuPree (D)	41.2	357,806

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 869,055
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State

Johnny DuPree defeated Maryra Hunt in the Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Johnny DuPree	71.7	200,423
		Maryra Hunt	28.3	79,201

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 279,624
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State

Michael D. Watson Jr. defeated Sam Britton in the Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael D. Watson Jr.	52.8	187,054
		Sam Britton	47.2	167,440

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 354,494
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2011

See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2011

DuPree ran for Governor of Mississippi in 2011. DuPree finished first in the August 2 primary election, capturing 43.5 percent of the vote. Because he failed to take at least 50 percent of the primary vote, DuPree had to face off against second highest vote-getter, Clarksdale attorney Bill Luckett, Jr., in a runoff election on August 23, 2011. With roughly 55 percent of the runoff vote, DuPree defeated Luckett for the Democratic nomination and became the first black gubernatorial candidate in state history. The general election was held on November 8, 2011. DuPree was defeated by Phil Bryant.

Results

Democratic primary

Gubernatorial Democratic Primary election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	aJohnny DuPree	43.5%
	Democratic Party	aBill Luckett, Jr.	39.2%
	Democratic Party	William Bond Compton, Jr.	9.8%
	Democratic Party	Guy Dale Shaw	7.3%
Total Votes			412,530

Runoff

Governor - Democratic primary runoff results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	aJohnny DuPree	55%
	Democratic Party	Bill Luckett, Jr.	45%
Total Votes			323,284

General election

Governor of Mississippi, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Phil Bryant	61%	544,851
	Democratic	Johnny DuPree	39%	348,617
Total Votes				893,468
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Johnny DuPree has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Johnny DuPree, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

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You can ask Johnny DuPree to fill out this survey by using the button below.

2022

Johnny DuPree did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

DuPree's campaign website stated the following:

“	1 \ Economy, Jobs, And Fighting Poverty The Economy is hitting us hard. For some of us, the reality of choosing between daily needs and priorities is nothing new. Johnny DuPree knows what it's like to go through poverty and face an economic fact: no matter how hard you work, there will always be more month than money. Johnny was blessed with the gift of a strong work ethic, supportive family and friends, and God's favor. These things allowed him to start his own business, become an elected official, and serve as the mayor of one of Mississippi's fastest-growing and economically sustainable cities. As your Congressman, Johnny will take the memories of his youth with him to Congress. He will not forget the days of walking on dirt streets, his family never owning a car, and receiving food subsidies. Whether fighting to solve inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, or ensuring equitable and fair pay for all people, he will continue his journey of helping remedy economic insecurities. His primary goal is to help ensure we all have more than a fighting chance in this Economy. 2 \ healthcare Healthcare should be preventative, and the only way of making that happen is by ensuring affordability. No one should ever have to choose between living and leveraging their family's future over outlandishly high medical bills and prescription costs. Johnny DuPree supports capping prescription drug costs and abolishing pre-existing condition coverages. Johnny also believes healthcare decisions should be made by the patient and their healthcare provider, including a woman's right to determine her reproductive healthcare options. He also believes that affordable healthcare for all citizens should be a right and not a subjectively determined privilege decided by insurance profits and CEO salaries. 3 \ Rights and freedoms All rights of every human should be protected without exception of race, color, sexual identity, orientation, or gender. These rights are not meant to strip rights away from others but to expand the rights of those historically disenfranchised. Voting rights, gender rights, and civil and social justice rights are not just rights for subgroups of Americans; they are essential to the fabric of the United States of America and its Future. Although Johnny believes in these inalienable rights for all, he does not believe individuals should ever encroach on or endanger the rights or lives of others. Johnny believes in common-sense gun control, which keeps guns out of the hands of those that should not have them, including potentially violent and mentally unstable individuals. As a certified and responsible gun owner, he understands the importance of responsible gun ownership and safety, but not at the cost of innocent lives. 4 \ Energy and climate In South Mississippi, our lands are our most incredible resource and driver of economic viability. South Mississippi has also been a constant victim of natural and man-made disasters. Impending climate change has made these disasters a much more significant threat. Climate change, global warming, and melting polar ice caps have pushed Tornado Alley further south into Mississippi and made the Gulf of Mexico a hotbed for seasonal hurricanes and tropical storms. This all puts in jeopardy our safety and economic stability. Finding a sustainable energy source and becoming energy independent is imperative to controlling and protecting our future. 5 \ veterans Mississippi's Fourth Congressional District is home to the state's largest military base (Keesler AFB) and largest military training installation (Camp Shelby). The military is not only crucial to the safety of America's interests; it is vital to the economic viability of our communities. Veterans have fought for this country and must receive that same commitment from us when they return home from service. We must strengthen the VA Healthcare system, broaden access to mental health and wellness services, sustain our commitment to their further education, and ensure that no Veteran is displaced by homelessness.	”
—Johnny DuPree's campaign website (2022)

2019

Johnny DuPree completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by DuPree's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I have been in public service since 1987, when I was appointed to the Hattiesburg Public School Board. In 1991, I was elected to the Forrest County Board of Supervisors and I served for 10 years before running for mayor of Hattiesburg in 2001. I then served as mayor of Hattiesburg from 2001 to 2017. I was the first African American elected as mayor of Hattiesburg and the longest serving mayor. In 2011, I ran and was elected as the Democratic nominee for Governor. My nomination marked the first time an African-American represented a major party as a candidate for Governor of Mississippi since the Reconstruction era. I have operated Johnny DuPree Realty since receiving his brokers' license in 1988. Since 2017, I have also taught a policy course at the University of Southern Mississippi, operated Johnny DuPree Consulting, LLC, and DuPree Transportation, Inc. I am happily married to wife of 46 years, Johniece, and we have two daughters, Dr. April DuPree (Coustaur) Taylor and Dr. Monica DuPree. We are also the proud grandparents of two boys Chandler and Chesney.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Increase voter education
• Increase voter access
• increase voter participation

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The primary reason I am running for Secretary of State is to increase voter education, access, and participation. According to a study conducted by MIT, Mississippi ranks 43rd in the United States for voting. I believe we can do better, with our troubled history in voting- Mississippi should be leading the nation in voting! I am passionate about educating Mississippi voters, increasing voter access, and participation.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Clarion Ledger interview

When asked by the Clarion Ledger why he decided to run for Mississippi Secretary of State, Dupree said:

“	I was just about content with private life. But I started teaching a policy course at (the University of Southern Mississippi) and I talked to and interacted with a lot of young people. It totally surprised me how much work we still need to do with voting, elections — the underpinnings of our democracy.	”
—Johnny DuPree (2019)

DuPree also said, "There needs to be some election reform in Mississippi... How can we make it easier to vote? How do we improve access to the process that is the foundation of our democracy?"

2011

DuPree highlighted the following issues on his 2011 campaign website:

• Education
• Economic development and job creation
• Budgeting priorities
• Medicaid (dead link)
• Corrections reform (dead link)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Johnny DuPree campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	U.S. House Mississippi District 4	Lost general	$147,382	$147,372
Grand total			$147,382	$147,372
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

See also

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Candidate

Mississippi State Senate District 45

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Mississippi State Senate

Leadership

Senators

District 1

Michael McLendon (R)

District 2

David Parker (R)

District 3

Kathy Chism (R)

District 4

Rita Parks (R)

District 5

Daniel Sparks (R)

District 6

Chad McMahan (R)

District 7

Hob Bryan (D)

District 8

Benjamin Suber (R)

District 9

Nicole Boyd (R)

District 10

Neil Whaley (R)

District 11

Reginald Jackson (D)

District 12

Derrick Simmons (D)

District 13

Sarita Simmons (D)

District 14

Lydia Chassaniol (R)

District 15

Bart Williams (R)

District 16

Angela Turner-Ford (D)

District 17

Charles Younger (R)

District 18

Lane Taylor (R)

District 19

Kevin Blackwell (R)

District 20

Josh Harkins (R)

District 21

Bradford Blackmon (D)

District 22

Joseph Thomas (D)

District 23

Briggs Hopson (R)

District 24

Vacant

District 25

Walter Michel (R)

District 26

Vacant

District 27

Hillman Frazier (D)

District 28

Sollie Norwood (D)

District 29

David Blount (D)

District 30

Dean Kirby (R)

District 31

Tyler McCaughn (R)

District 32

Rod Hickman (D)

District 33

Jeff Tate (R)

District 34

Juan Barnett (D)

District 35

Andy Berry (R)

District 36

Brian Rhodes (R)

District 37

Albert Butler (D)

District 38

Gary Brumfield (D)

District 39

Jason Barrett (R)

District 40

Angela Hill (R)

District 41

Joey Fillingane (R)

District 42

Robin Robinson (R)

District 43

Dennis DeBar (R)

District 44

John Polk (R)

District 45

Chris Johnson (R)

District 46

Philman Ladner (R)

District 47

Joseph Seymour (R)

District 48

Mike Thompson (R)

District 49

Joel Carter (R)

District 50

Scott DeLano (R)

District 51

Jeremy England (R)

District 52

Brice Wiggins (R)

Republican Party (36)

Democratic Party (14)

Vacancies (2)