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Willie Simmons (Mississippi)
2020 - Present
2028
5
Willie Simmons (Democratic Party) is a member of the Mississippi Transportation Commission, representing Central District. He assumed office on January 7, 2020. His current term ends on January 6, 2028.
Simmons (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Mississippi Transportation Commission to represent Central District. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Simmons is a former Democratic member of the Mississippi State Senate, representing District 13 from 1993 to 2020.
Biography
Simmons attended Utica Junior College, and earned his B.S. from Alcorn State University, M.S. from Delta State University, and Ed.S. from Delta State University. His professional experience includes working in administration and consulting and owning his own business, Simmons and Associates.
Elections
2023
See also: Mississippi Transportation Commissioner election, 2023
General election
General election for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District
Incumbent Willie Simmons defeated Ricky Pennington Jr. in the general election for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Willie Simmons (D) | 55.2 | 150,296 |
 | Ricky Pennington Jr. (R) | 44.8 | 121,866 | |
| Total votes: 272,162 | |||
 = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District
Incumbent Willie Simmons advanced from the Democratic primary for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Willie Simmons | 100.0 | 86,481 |
| Total votes: 86,481 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District
Ricky Pennington Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ricky Pennington Jr. | 100.0 | 85,180 |
| Total votes: 85,180 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Simmons received the following endorsements.
2019
See also: Mississippi Transportation Commissioner election, 2019
General election
General election for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District
Willie Simmons defeated Butch Lee in the general election for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Willie Simmons (D) | 51.1 | 149,573 |
| Butch Lee (R) | 48.9 | 143,003 | ||
| Total votes: 292,576 | |||
| = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District
Willie Simmons defeated Marcus Wallace in the Democratic primary for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Willie Simmons | 60.3 | 66,394 |
| Marcus Wallace | 39.7 | 43,673 | ||
| Total votes: 110,067 | |||
| = 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 Transportation Commission Central District
Butch Lee defeated Ricky Pennington Jr. in the Republican primary for Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Butch Lee | 65.2 | 63,890 | |
| Ricky Pennington Jr. | 34.8 | 34,044 | |
| Total votes: 97,934 | |||
| = 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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2015
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2015
Elections for the Mississippi State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on August 4, 2015, and the general election was held on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 27, 2015.[1] Incumbent Willie Simmons was unopposed in the Democratic primary. No Republican candidates filed for election. Simmons ran unchallenged in the District 13 general election.
2011
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2011
Simmons won re-election to the Mississippi Senate District 13. He ran unopposed in the primary on August 2, 2011. No candidates ran in the Republican primary. Simmons defeated Clayton Barksdale (I) in the general election on November 8, 2011.[2]
| Mississippi State Senate, District 13 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Willie Simmons Incumbent |
78.8% | 8,765 | |
| Independent | Clayton Barksdale | 21.2% | 2,358 | |
| Total Votes | 11,123 | |||
2007
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2007
On November 6, 2007, Willie Simmons ran unopposed for District 13 of the Mississippi State Senate.[3]
Willie Simmons raised $17,975 for his campaign.[4]
| Mississippi Senate, District 13 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Willie Simmons (D) | 9,538 | 100% | ||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Willie Simmons did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Willie Simmons did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Simmons and his wife, Rosie, have four children.
State legislative tenure
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Mississippi scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2019
In 2019, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 8 through March 29.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 2 through March 28.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 3 through March 29. There was also a special session June 5.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 5 through April 21.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 6 through April 2.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 7 through April 2.
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Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Simmons was assigned to the following committees:
- Legislative Budget Committee (decommissioned)
- State Library Committee
- Senate Agriculture Committee
- Senate Appropriations Committee
- Senate Corrections Committee
- Ports and Marine Resources Committee
- Highways and Transportation Committee, Chairman
- Public Health and Welfare Committee
- Senate Tourism Committee
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Simmons served on the following committees:
| Mississippi committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Highways and Transportation, Chair |
| • Agriculture |
| • Appropriations |
| • Corrections |
| • Legislative Budget |
| • Ports and Marine Resources |
| • Public Health and Welfare |
| • State Library |
2012-2013
In the 2012-2013 legislative session, Simmons served on the following committees:
| Mississippi committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Highways and Transportation, Chair |
| • Agriculture |
| • Appropriations |
| • Corrections |
| • Legislative Budget |
| • Ports and Marine Resources |
| • Public Health and Welfare |
| • State Library |
2010-2011
In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Simmons served on these committees:
| Mississippi committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Appropriations |
| • Corrections |
| • Economic Development |
| • Environment Prot, Cons and Water Res |
| • Fees, Salaries and Administration |
| • Public Health and Welfare |
| • State Library |
See also
2023 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District |
Officeholder Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections Calendar," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ Mississippi Department of State, "2011 Official State Senate Candidate List," accessed April 2, 2015
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Mississippi State Senate official election results for 2007," accessed April 2, 2015
- ↑ Follow the Money's report on Simmons' 2007 campaign contributions
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dick Hall (R) |
Mississippi Transportation Commission Central District 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Mississippi State Senate District 13 1993-2020 |
Succeeded by Sarita Simmons (D) |
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