Mississippi Public Service Commission election, 2015

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2015 Mississippi Public Service Commission Election

Table of Contents Candidates Results Key deadlines Campaign finance Duties Past elections State profile Recent news See also External links

Primary Date: August 4, 2015

Primary Runoff Date (if necessary): August 25, 2015

General Election Date: November 3, 2015

Incumbents prior to election: Lynn Posey Brandon Presley Steve Renfroe

The Mississippi Public Service Commission election took place on November 3, 2015, following a primary on August 4, 2015. All three seats on the commission were up for election. Incumbent Brandon Presley (D), Cecil Brown (D), and Sam Britton (R) won election in 2015.

Incumbents Lynn Posey (R - Central District), Brandon Presley (D - Northern District) and Steve Renfroe (I - Southern District) were eligible for re-election, but only Presley opted to run for another term on the commission in 2015. Renfroe was appointed to serve out the remainder of former Commissioner Leonard Bentz's term after Bentz resigned in August 2013. He said he would not run for the Southern District seat in 2015. In late 2014, Posey announced that he would not seek a third term as commissioner for the Central District, leaving two of the three PSC seats open for the 2015 elections.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Mississippi state law stipulates that an individual can only participate in a party's primary if he or she "intends to support the nominations made in the primary" in which he or she participates. However, this is generally considered an unenforceable requirement. Consequently, Mississippi's primary is effectively open.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Candidates

General election

• Northern District:

☐ Mike Maynard
☑ Brandon Presley (Incumbent)

• Central District:

Note: Incumbent Lynn Posey (R) was not seeking re-election.
☐ Brent Bailey
☑ Cecil Brown
☐ LaTrice D. Notree

• Southern District:

Note: Incumbent Steve Renfroe (I) was not seeking re-election.
☐ Tom Blanton
☑ Sam Britton
☐ Lonny Kenneth Spence

Lost in the primary

• Central District:

Tony Greer
Bruce Burton

• Southern District:

Tony Smith(Lost in a Runoff)
Mike Collier

Results

North

General

Mississippi Public Service Commission, Northern District, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brandon Presley Incumbent	60.7%	146,518
	Republican	Mike Maynard	39.3%	94,793
Total Votes				241,311
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Primary

No primary was scheduled for either major party as only one candidate filed for the office from each party.

Central

General

Mississippi Public Service Commission, Central District, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cecil Brown	53.4%	124,789
	Republican	Brent Bailey	45.5%	106,314
	Reform	LaTrice D. Notree	1.2%	2,742
Total Votes				233,845
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Primary

Democratic

Brown defeated Burton in the Democratic primary and faced Brent Bailey (R) and LaTrice D. Notree (I) in the general election.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner, Central District, Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Cecil Brown	73.3%	67,166
Bruce Burton	26.7%	24,524
Total Votes		91,690
Election results via Associated Press.

Republican

Bailey defeated Greer in the Republican primary; he faced Cecil Brown (D) and LaTrice D. Notree (I) in the general election.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner, Central District, Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Brent Bailey	63.5%	47,993
Tony Greer	36.5%	27,634
Total Votes		75,627
Election results via Associated Press.

Southern

General

Mississippi Public Service Commission, Southern District, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Tom Blanton	37.4%	89,146
	Republican	Sam Britton	60.5%	144,194
	Reform	Lonny Kenneth Spence	2%	4,867
Total Votes				238,207
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Primary

Democratic

No primary was scheduled for either major party, as only one candidate filed to run from the Democratic Party.

Republican

Collier was defeated in the Republican primary, while Britton and Smith proceeded to a runoff election on August 25, 2015. Britton defeated Smith in the runoff election by 17 points. Britton faced Tom Blanton (D) and Lonny Kenneth Spence (I) in the general election on November 3, 2015.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner, South District, Republican Primary Runoff, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sam Britton	58.7%	42,484
Tony Smith	41.3%	29,899
Total Votes		72,383
Election results via MS News Now.

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner, South District, Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sam Britton	46.5%	54,662
Tony Smith	28.4%	33,440
Mike Collier	25.1%	29,541
Total Votes		117,643
Election results via Associated Press.

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
February 27, 2015	Filing deadline for party primary and independent candidates for the primary and general elections
March 3, 2015	Deadline for delivery of candidate lists from state parties to Mississippi Secretary of State
July 3, 2015	Voter registration deadline for primary
August 4, 2015	Primary election
August 25, 2015	Primary runoff (if necessary)
October 3, 2015	Voter registration deadline for general election
November 3, 2015	General election
November 13, 2015	Canvass of Returns and Declaration of Results by County Election Commission(s)

Voter registration

For full information about voting in Mississippi, contact the state election agency.

Voters in Mississippi can register to vote by filling out registration forms at county clerk offices. The Mississippi Secretary of State also offers a mail-in application that must be accompanied by a copy of a government-issued photo ID, utility bill, paycheck or bank statement. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is also capable of handling voter registration as part of driver's license applications. Residents can register to vote up to 30 days prior to the next election.

The following qualifications must be met to successfully register to vote in Mississippi:

☐ U.S. citizenship
☐ At least 18 years old by the next general election
☐ Residency in Mississippi and county of registration for at least 30 days
☐ Not under order of imprisonment for felony conviction
☐ Have not been judged "mentally incompetent" in court

Campaign finance

Northern District

Pre-election report (July 1, 2015 - July 25, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $4,550 and spent a total of $1,495 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 29, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brandon Presley	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$30,594.38	$4,500.00	$1,295.00	$33,394.38
Mike Maynard	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$0.00	$50.00	$200.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$4,550
Grand Total Spent					$1,495

Third periodic report (June 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $6,885 and spent a total of $1,150 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 26, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brandon Presley	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$25,815.97	$6,785.00	$850.00	$30,594.38
Mike Maynard	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$−60.00	$100.00	$300.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$6,885
Grand Total Spent					$1,150

Second periodic report (May 1, 2015 - May 31, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $840 and spent a total of $685.25 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on June 26, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brandon Presley	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$24,491.22	$600.00	$385.25	$25,815.97
Mike Maynard	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$0.00	$240.00	$300.00	$−60.00
Grand Total Raised					$840
Grand Total Spent					$685.25

First periodic report (Jan. 1 2015 - April 30 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $24,516 and spent a total of $5,038.99 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on May 11, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brandon Presley	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$4,914.21	$24,516.00	$4,838.99	$24,491.22
Mike Maynard	Mississippi PSC Northern District	$200.00	$0.00	$200.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$24,516
Grand Total Spent					$5,038.99

Central District

Pre-election report (July 1, 2015 - July 25, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $32,560 and spent a total of $42,730.38 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 29, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brent Bailey	Mississippi PSC Central District	$9,901.62	$7,050.00	$11,496.99	$5,454.63
Tony Greer	Mississippi PSC Central District	$12,741.75	$9,195.00	$18,028.99	$3,907.76
Cecil Brown	Mississippi PSC Central District	$110,412.67	$16,015.00	$12,019.40	$114,408.27
Bruce Burton	Mississippi PSC Central District	$927.40	$300.00	$1,185.00	$42.40
LaTrice D. Notree	Mississippi PSC Central District	$0.00	$-	$-	$-
Grand Total Raised					$32,560
Grand Total Spent					$42,730.38

Third periodic report (June 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $52,120 and spent a total of $60,199.02 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 26, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brent Bailey	Mississippi PSC Central District	$19,147.89	$2,200.00	$11,446.27	$9,901.62
Tony Greer	Mississippi PSC Central District	$7,547.16	$30,070.00	$24,875.41	$12,741.75
Cecil Brown	Mississippi PSC Central District	$114,910.01	$17,550.00	$22,047.34	$110,412.67
Bruce Burton	Mississippi PSC Central District	$757.40	$2,300.00	$1,830.00	$927.40
LaTrice D. Notree	Mississippi PSC Central District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$52,120
Grand Total Spent					$60,199.02

Second periodic report (May 1, 2015 - May 31, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $46,069 and spent a total of $36,754.81 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on June 26, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brent Bailey	Mississippi PSC Central District	$12,522.52	$11,595.00	$4,969.63	$19,147.89
Tony Greer	Mississippi PSC Central District	$17,433.14	$7,525.00	$17,410.98	$7,547.16
Cecil Brown	Mississippi PSC Central District	$102,829.33	$25,849.00	$12,211.60	$114,910.01
Bruce Burton	Mississippi PSC Central District	$1,820.00	$900.00	$1,962.60	$757.40
LaTrice D. Notree	Mississippi PSC Central District	$0.00	$200.00	$200.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$46,069
Grand Total Spent					$36,754.81

First periodic report (Jan. 1, 2015 - April 30, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $93,225 and spent a total of $62,202.73 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on May 11, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Brent Bailey	Mississippi PSC Central District	$0.00	$29,200.00	$16,677.48	$12,522.52
Tony Greer	Mississippi PSC Central District	$0.00	$24,600.00	$7,166.86	$17,433.14
Cecil Brown	Mississippi PSC Central District	$103,582.72	$35,725.00	$36,478.39	$102,829.33
Bruce Burton	Mississippi PSC Central District	$0.00	$3,500.00	$1,680.00	$1,820.00
LaTrice D. Notree	Mississippi PSC Central District	$0.00	$200.00	$200.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$93,225
Grand Total Spent					$62,202.73

Southern District

Pre-election report (July 1, 2015 - July 25, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $32,516.78 and spent a total of $239,624.89 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 29, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Sam Britton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$282,560.38	$10,935.00	$226,405.31	$67,090.07
Mike Collier	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Tony Smith	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$31,274.88	$13,050.00	$4,687.80	$39,637.08
Tom Blanton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$8,531.78	$8,531.78	$0.00
Lonny Kenneth Spence	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$32,516.78
Grand Total Spent					$239,624.89

Third periodic report (June 1, 2015 - June 30, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $266,001.67 and spent a total of $68,931.86 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 26, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Sam Britton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$86,434.82	$252,440.68	$56,315.12	$282,560.38
Mike Collier	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Tony Smith	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$27,064.48	$5,769.00	$4,824.75	$31,274.88
Tom Blanton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$7,791.99	$7,791.99	$0.00
Lonny Kenneth Spence	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$266,001.67
Grand Total Spent					$68,931.86

Second periodic report (May 1, 2015 - May 31, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $13,948.92 and spent a total of $32,256.98 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on June 26, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Sam Britton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$101,456.73	$550.00	$15,571.91	$86,434.82
Mike Collier	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Tony Smith	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$30,350.63	$3,000.00	$6,286.15	$27,064.48
Tom Blanton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$10,398.92	$10,398.92	$0.00
Lonny Kenneth Spence	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$13,948.92
Grand Total Spent					$32,256.98

First periodic report (Jan. 1, 2015 - April 30, 2015)
Comprehensive donor information for this election was collected from the state's campaign finance authority. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $137,517.15 and spent a total of $46,341.73 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on May 8, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Sam Britton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$118,350.00	$16,893.27	$101,456.73
Mike Collier	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Tony Smith	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$40,631.94	$500.00	$10,781.31	$30,350.63
Tom Blanton	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$18,467.15	$18,467.15	$0.00
Lonny Kenneth Spence	Mississippi PSC Southern District	$0.00	$200.00	$200.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$137,517.15
Grand Total Spent					$46,341.73

Duties

According to the Public Service Commission's website, the responsibilities of the commissioners are as follows:

• Regulate telecommunications, electric, gas, water and sewer utilities
• Assure rates and charges for services are just and reasonable
• Assure service rendered is reasonably adequate
• Assure any facilities constructed or acquired are required for the convenience and necessity of the public
• Exercise safety jurisdiction over gas pipelines and area jurisdiction over all public utilities
• Answer complaints, make investigation and conduct formal and informal hearings.

Past elections

2011

See also: Mississippi down ballot state executive elections, 2011

Central District

Mississippi Public Service Commission (Central/District 1), 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lynn Posey Incumbent	56.4%	157,675
	Democratic	Addie Green	43.6%	121,653
Total Votes				279,328
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Southern District

Mississippi Public Service Commission (South/District 2), 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Leonard Bentz Incumbent	60.1%	178,804
	Democratic	Mike Collier	39.9%	118,813
Total Votes				297,617
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Northern District

Mississippi Public Service Commission (North/District 3), 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brandon Presley Incumbent	55.8%	161,099
	Republican	Boyce Adams	44.2%	127,557
Total Votes				288,656
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2007

Central District

Mississippi Public Service Commission - Central District, 2007
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Lynn Posey	50.6%	122,417
	Republican	Charles Barbour	46.6%	112,782
	Reform	Lee Dilworth	2.8%	6,833
Total Votes				242,032
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Southern District

Mississippi Public Service Commission, Southern District, 2007
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Leonard Bentz	55.9%	139,124
	Democratic	Mike Collier	44.1%	109,737
Total Votes				248,861
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Northern District

Mississippi Public Service Commission, Northern District, 2007
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brandon Presley	57.9%	134,405
	Republican	Mabel Murphree	42.1%	97,892
Total Votes				232,297
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2003

Central District

Mississippi Public Service Commission - Central District, 2003
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Nielsen Cochran	58.5%	164,394
	Democratic	L.D. Horne	39.4%	110,779
	Reform	Mike R. Ivey	2.2%	6,072
Total Votes				281,245
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Southern District

Mississippi Public Service Commission, Southern District, 2003
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Michael Callahan Incumbent	51.3%	150,599
	Republican	Larry Albritton	47%	138,147
	Reform	Anthony Sahuque	1.7%	4,962
Total Votes				293,708
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Northern District

Mississippi Public Service Commission, Northern District, 2003
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bo Robinson	83.9%	216,331
	Republican	Kerry Hunt	16.1%	41,610
Total Votes				257,941
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

State profile

Demographic data for Mississippi
	Mississippi	U.S.
Total population:	2,989,390	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	46,923	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	59.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	37.4%	12.6%
Asian:	1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.4%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	1.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	2.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	82.3%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	20.7%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$39,665	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	27%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Mississippi. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Mississippi

Mississippi voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in Mississippi, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Mississippi had two Retained Pivot Counties, 1.10 of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Mississippi coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Mississippi
• United States congressional delegations from Mississippi
• Public policy in Mississippi
• Endorsers in Mississippi
• Mississippi fact checks
• More...

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mississippi + Public + Service Commission + election + 2015"

2015 Mississippi Public Service Commission Election News Feed

See also

• Mississippi Public Service Commission
• State executive official elections, 2015
• Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Mississippi Public Service Commission