Mississippi Secretary of State election, 2015

2019 → ← 2011

2015 Mississippi Secretary of State Election

Table of Contents Candidates Results Key deadlines Polls Campaign finance Duties Past elections 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

Incumbent prior to election: Delbert Hosemann

The Mississippi Secretary of State election took place on November 3, 2015, following a primary on August 4, 2015. Republican incumbent Delbert Hosemann was first elected in 2007 and won re-election in 2011. He was elected to a third term in 2015.

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.

In Mississippi, primaries are open, meaning any registered voter may vote in the primary of their choice. State law says: "No person shall vote or attempt to vote in the primary election of one (1) party when he or she has voted on the same date in the primary election of another party."

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

Candidates

General election

☑ Delbert Hosemann (Incumbent)
☐ Charles E. Graham
☐ Randy Walker

Results

General

Mississippi Secretary of State, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Charles E. Graham	35.8%	256,689
	Republican	Delbert Hosemann Incumbent	61.3%	440,048
	Reform	Randy Walker	3%	21,260
Total Votes				717,997
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Primary

A primary was not held for either major party because only one candidate from each party filed to run for the office.

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

Polls

Hypothetical general election match-ups

Mississippi Secretary of State: three-way race
Poll	Delbert Hosemann* (R)	Charles E. Graham (D)	Randy Walker (Reform)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Mason-Dixon Poll (April 21-23, 2015)	62%	27%	3%	8%	+/-4.0	625
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.

Campaign finance

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 $36,050 and spent a total of $27,305.79 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
Delbert Hosemann	Mississippi Secretary of State	$1,131,246.13	$35,450.00	$27,305.79	$1,139,390.34
Charles E. Graham	Mississippi Secretary of State	$100.00	$600.00	$0.00	$600.00
Randy Walker	Mississippi Secretary of State	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$36,050
Grand Total Spent					$27,305.79

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 $45,485 and spent a total of $19,086.59 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
Delbert Hosemann	Mississippi Secretary of State	$1,104,847.72	$44,785.00	$18,386.59	$1,131,246.13
Charles E. Graham	Mississippi Secretary of State	$100.00	$700.00	$700.00	$100.00
Randy Walker	Mississippi Secretary of State	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$45,485
Grand Total Spent					$19,086.59

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 $57,370 and spent a total of $10,264.43 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
Delbert Hosemann	Mississippi Secretary of State	$1,057,742.15	$56,475.00	$9,369.43	$1,104,847.72
Charles E. Graham	Mississippi Secretary of State	$100.00	$895.00	$895.00	$100.00
Randy Walker	Mississippi Secretary of State	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$57,370
Grand Total Spent					$10,264.43

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 $90,300 and spent a total of $39,380.33 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
Delbert Hosemann	Mississippi Secretary of State	$1,007,172.48	$89,750.00	$38,930.33	$1,057,742.15
Charles E. Graham	Mississippi Secretary of State	$0.00	$350.00	$250.00	$100.00
Randy Walker	Mississippi Secretary of State	$0.00	$200.00	$200.00	$0.00
Grand Total Raised					$90,300
Grand Total Spent					$39,380.33

Duties

The Mississippi Secretary of State serves as chief elections officer for the state, and is the official "keeper of the Capitol."

Article 6, Section 133 of the Mississippi Constitution details the initial duties of the secretary of state:

... and shall be keeper of the capitol; he shall keep a correct register of all official acts and proceedings of the governor; and shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, before the legislature, and he shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by law...

The roles and responsibilities of the office of secretary of state have necessarily evolved since the state constitution was written. Click [show] for more information about these expanded roles:

Chief election officer
training election officials collecting campaign finance and lobbying reports managing the statewide voter registry collecting election returns assisting local election officials in carrying out their election-related responsibilities

State land commissioner

enforcement of the 16th section public school trust lands and lieu land laws development and implementation of the public trust tidelands management programs sale of lands forefeited to the State for non-payment or ad valorem taxes inventory of state agency lands and services to the public and governmental subdivisions relating to sales, acquisitions, leasing and the title of the state's real property assets

Point of contact for businesses
processes the formation of Mississippi corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships and other business and nonprofit entities regulates and approves all notaries public registers Mississippi trademark applications files leins under the Mississippi Uniform Commercial Code

Past elections

2011

See also: Mississippi secretary of state election, 2011

Mississippi Secretary of State, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Delbert Hosemann Incumbent	100%	719,734
Total Votes				719,734
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2007

Mississippi Secretary of State, 2007
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Delbert Hosemann	58.2%	425,228
	Democrat	Robert H. Smith	41.8%	304,918
Total Votes				730,146
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2003

Mississippi Secretary of State, 2003
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat	Eric Clark Incumbent	71%	610,461
	Republican	Julio Del Castillo	23.5%	201,765
	Reform	Brenda Blackburn	5.5%	47,296
Total Votes				859,522
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mississippi + Secretary + of + State + Election + 2015"

2015 Mississippi Secretary of State Election News Feed

See also

• Mississippi Secretary of State
• State executive official elections, 2015
• Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Mississippi Secretary of State
• Mississippi Office of the Secretary of State: Elections & Voting