Mississippi Attorney General election, 2015

2019 → ← 2011

2015 Mississippi Attorney General 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: Jim Hood

The Mississippi Attorney General election took place on November 3, 2015, following a primary on August 4, 2015. Incumbent Jim Hood (D) was first elected in 2003 and was re-elected in 2007, 2011, and 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

Jim Hood Incumbent a
Mike Hurst

Results

General

Mississippi Attorney General, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jim Hood Incumbent	55.4%	400,110
	Republican	Mike Hurst	44.6%	322,648
Total Votes				722,758
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.

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)

Polls

Hypothetical general election match-ups

Mississippi Attorney General: two-way race
Poll	Jim Hood* (D)	Mike Hurst (R)	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Mason-Dixon Poll (April 21-23, 2015)	55%	40%	5%	+/-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 $338,662.21 and spent a total of $91,138.62 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 30, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Jim Hood	Attorney General of Mississippi	$373,647.91	$235,206.22	$76,560.37	$365,238.72
Mike Hurst	Attorney General of Mississippi	$215,312.24	$103,455.99	$14,578.25	$305,588.99
Grand Total Raised					$338,662.21
Grand Total Spent					$91,138.62

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 $319,750 and spent a total of $105,683.8 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
Jim Hood	Attorney General of Mississippi	$211,029.43	$240,700.00	$78,081.52	$373,647.91
Mike Hurst	Attorney General of Mississippi	$163,864.52	$79,050.00	$27,602.28	$215,312.24
Grand Total Raised					$319,750
Grand Total Spent					$105,683.8

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 $206,480.32 and spent a total of $34,389.17 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
Jim Hood	Attorney General of Mississippi	$233,683.28	$188,030.32	$30,223.84	$211,029.43
Mike Hurst	Attorney General of Mississippi	$149,579.85	$18,450.00	$4,165.33	$163,864.52
Grand Total Raised					$206,480.32
Grand Total Spent					$34,389.17

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 $387,193.55 and spent a total of $20,582.63 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
Jim Hood	Attorney General of Mississippi	$16,652.21	$231,196.55	$14,165.48	$233,683.28
Mike Hurst	Attorney General of Mississippi	$0	$155,997.00	$6,417.15	$149,579.85
Grand Total Raised					$387,193.55
Grand Total Spent					$20,582.63

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

Duties

The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer and adviser for Mississippi. They are responsible for advising on both civil and criminal legal matters. The officeholder is aided by a staff of attorneys, investigators and office personnel. The attorney general is also responsible for all prosecution of the state's campaign finance laws. This is regardless if it involves civil or criminal laws. The first step in filing any complaint is to file with the attorney general.

Other duties of the office include:

• represent public officials and government agencies
• issue legal opinions that interpret state law
• act as counsel to state agencies to defend them or bring suit on their behalf
• represent the people of the state of Mississippi

Past elections

2011

See also: Mississippi attorney general election, 2011

Mississippi Attorney General, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jim Hood	61.1%	536,827
	Republican	Steve Simpson	38.9%	342,086
Total Votes				878,913
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2007

Mississippi Attorney General, 2007
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jim Hood Incumbent	59.8%	440,017
	Republican	Al Hopkins	40.2%	295,516
Total Votes				735,533
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2003

Mississippi Attorney General, 2003
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jim Hood	62.7%	548,046
	Republican	Scott Newton	37.3%	325,942
Total Votes				873,988
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mississippi + Attorney + General + Election + Hood + 2015"

2015 Mississippi Attorney General Election News Feed

See also

• Mississippi Attorney General
• State executive official elections, 2015
• Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015

External links

Suggest a link

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