Mississippi filing deadline yields crowded fields, primary challenges for state executive offices
March 9, 2015
Jackson, Mississippi: Filing deadline day in Mississippi yielded contested races for all 11 state executive offices covered by Ballotpedia, with Republicans hoping for a clean sweep after 12 years of momentum in statewide races. Nine incumbents filed for re-election by the February 27 deadline, including Governor Phil Bryant (R), Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves (R) and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann (R), plus Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood. Each attracted one or more major-party challengers.[1] Despite the party’s clear underdog status, Democrats managed to field candidates in all state executive races except treasurer and insurance commissioner.
State Auditor Stacey Pickering faces a primary challenge from nine-term Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler, who is known throughout the state for being one of the country’s longest serving mayors. Butler was only 26 years old when she won her first mayoral term.[2] Pickering was re-elected auditor by a commanding 75 percent of the 2011 general election vote, indicating that his chances of winning a third term could depend on a strong primary performance.
As Mississippi's only Democratic statewide official, Attorney General Hood's biggest hurdle is expected to be his general election battle against Republican Mike Hurst, who both ended a nine-year stint at the U.S. Attorney's office and filed his candidacy paperwork on the last day of the qualifying period. Hurst said he wants to increase the attorney general's involvement in the "public corruption fight."[3]
Mississippi Public Service Commissioners Lynn Posey (R-Central District) and Steve Renfroe (I-Southern District) opted not to run again. Renfroe, appointed in August 2013 to serve out the remainder of former Commissioner Leonard Bentz's term, said soon after assuming office that he would not seek a full term in 2015.[4][5][6] Posey announced late last year that he would retire from the commission after two terms representing the Central District. Posey and Renfroe’s advanced notice of their intentions appears to have raised the volume on the two commissioner races, with a total of 11 Democratic, Republican and Reform Party candidates filing to fill the open seats.[7][8]
In total, 43 candidates filed by the February 27 deadline for the partisan primary on August 4, 2015.[1] Pursuant to MS Code § 23-15-191, runoff elections are held to settle primary contests in which no candidate receives a majority (50 percent plus one) of the popular vote.[9] The runoff is scheduled for August 25, 2015.[10]
Quick facts
- Of the 34 filed challengers in Mississippi, only five have served in elected office at any level.
- Former state Sen. Tim Johnson made a high-profile switch from Republican to Democrat immediately before launching his campaign to unseat GOP incumbent Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves in the general election. In Mississippi, the lieutenant governor presides over the Senate.[11]
- The partisan composition of state executive seats changed from a six-to-five split in favor of Democrats in 2003 to a nine-to-two advantage for Republicans in 2011. In the 2011 elections, no winning candidate had a margin of victory less than 10.7 percent.
| Margin of victory analysis, 2003-2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | 2011 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2011 | 2007 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2007 | 2003 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2003 |
| Mississippi | Governor | 22 |  |
15.8 | |
6.7 |
|
| Mississippi | Lieutenant Governor | 60.7 | |
17.1 | |
23.9 |
|
| Mississippi | Attorney General | - |  |
19.7 | |
35.5 |
|
| Mississippi | Secretary of State | 22.1 | |
16.5 | |
47.6 |
|
| Mississippi | Auditor | 51.4 | |
9.9 | |
52.7 |
|
| Mississippi | Treasurer | 20.6 | |
21.1 | |
5.2 |
|
| Mississippi | Commissioner of Agriculture | 15.3 | |
8.6 | |
34 |
|
| Mississippi | Insurance Commissioner | 27.3 | |
13 | |
46.6 |
|
| Mississippi | Public Service Commission, Central District | 12.9 | |
3.9 | |
19.1 |
|
| Mississippi | Public Service Commission, Southern District | 20.1 | |
11.8 | |
4.2 |
|
| Mississippi | Public Service Commission, Northern District | 10.7 | |
15.7 | |
67.7 |
|
Note: A "-" indicates a race where only one candidate contested the seat.
Filed candidates
See also
- Mississippi state executive offices
- Mississippi elections, 2015
- Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015
- Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2015
- Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2015
- Mississippi Attorney General election, 2015
- Mississippi Secretary of State election, 2015
- Mississippi Auditor election, 2015
- Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture election, 2015
- Mississippi Treasurer election, 2015
- Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance election, 2015
- Mississippi Public Service Commission election, 2015
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 1.38 1.39 1.40 1.41 1.42 1.43 1.44 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Candidate Qualifying List," accessed March 2, 2015 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "candlist" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Clarion-Ledger, "Mary Hawkins Butler qualifies to run for auditor," February 9, 2015
- ↑ MS News Now, "Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst to run for MS Attorney General," updated February 28
- ↑ WLOX, "New public service commissioner has no interest in politics," September 3, 2013
- ↑ gulflive.com, "Leonard Bentz resigns from Mississippi Public Service Commission," August 20, 2013
- ↑ Sun Herald, "Bryant names Steve Renfroe new public service commissioner," September 3, 2013
- ↑ Copiah County Courier, "Commissioner Lynn Posey will not seek re-election," January 1, 2015
- ↑ Mississippi News Now, "Lynn Posey won't seek re-election to PSC," December 30, 2014
- ↑ Justia.com, "Mississippi Code: Title 23, Chapter 15, Article 5," accessed March 2, 2015
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections Calendar," accessed March 2, 2015
- ↑ The Clarion-Ledger, "Former GOP senator switches parties, challenges for lt. gov.," February 4, 2015
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