A general election was held in the U.S. state of Mississippi on November 3, 2015. All of Mississippi's executive officers were up for election. Primary elections were held on August 4, 2015, with primary runoffs, necessary if no candidate wins a majority of the vote, to be held on August 25, 2015. The filing deadline for primary ballot access was February 27.
Contents
Governor
Incumbent Republican Governor Phil Bryant won re-election to a second and final term in office. He was challenged in the Republican primary by Mitch Young.
Retired firefighter Robert Gray, physician Valerie Short and attorney Vicki Slater ran for the Democratic nomination.
Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves is running for re-election to a second term in office. He is being challenged in the primary by teacher Alisha Nelson McElhenney. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, State Senator and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 Chris McDaniel and State Senator Michael Watson all considered running against Reeves in the Republican primary, but none did so.
Two candidates filed for the Democratic nomination: actor and candidate for Mayor of Greenwood in 2013 Jelani Barr and former Republican State Senator and former Republican Madison County Supervisor Tim Johnson. Mississippi Public Service Commissionner Brandon Presley was a potential Democratic candidate but is instead running for re-election.
Attorney General
Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood had been mentioned as a potential candidate for Governor, but he is instead running for re-election to a fourth term in office.
The only candidate to file for the Republican nomination was Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst. Attorney Russ Latino considered running but declined to do so. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, State Senator Chris McDaniel, State Senator Michael Watson, Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence, Madison and Rankin Counties' District Attorney Michael Guest were all mentioned as potential Republican candidates. However, none of them filed to run. State Representative Mark Baker and attorney, author and former Madison County Supervisor Andy Taggart declined to run.
Secretary of State
Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann had considered running for Lieutenant Governor against Tate Reeves in the Republican primary. However, he chose to run for re-election to a third term in office instead. Had Hosemann retired or run for another office, potential Republican candidates included State Senator Michael Watson and attorney and Hosemann's former Chief of Staff Cory Wilson.
Retired firefighter Charles Graham is running for the Democrats. State Senator David Blount and former Secretary of State Dick Molpus were potential Democratic candidates, but neither chose to run.
State Treasurer
Incumbent Republican State Treasurer Lynn Fitch is running for re-election to a second term in office. Attorney David McRae, whose family formerly owned the McRae's department store chain, is running against Fitch in the Republican primary.
No Democrat filed to run for the office.
State Auditor
Incumbent Republican State Auditor Stacey E. Pickering is running for re-election to a third term in office. Pickering is being challenged in the Republican primary by Mary Hawkins Butler, the Mayor of Madison. State Senator Michael Watson had considered running but did not do so.
Joce Pritchett, an engineer, is running as a Democrat. Charles Graham, a retired firefighter, had been running, but decided instead to run for Secretary of State.
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Cindy Hyde-Smith is running for re-election to a second term in office
Addie Lee Green is running as a Democrat.
Commissioner of Insurance
Incumbent Republican Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney is running for re-election to a third term in office. Businessman John Mosley is running against Chaney in the Republican primary.
Former State Representative and Director of the Mississippi Democratic Trust Brandon Jones was a possible Democratic candidate. No Democrat filed to run for the office.
Northern District
Incumbent Democratic Commissioner Brandon Presley had considered running for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, but decided not to and is running for re-election to a third term in office.
Mike Maynard is running as a Republican.
Central District
Incumbent Republican Commissioner Lynn Posey is retiring rather than run for re-election to a third term in office.
For the Republicans, Brent Bailey and attorney and candidate for Governor in 2003 Mitch Tyner are running. Other potential Republican candidates were former State Senator and candidate for State Treasurer in 2011 Lee Yancey and Jason Cochran, a utility construction company project manager, the son of former Commissioner Nielsen Cochran and nephew of U.S. Senator Thad Cochran Neither filed to run.
Bruce Burton and State Representative Cecil Brown are running for the Democrats. Robert Amos originally qualified as a Democratic candidate for this seat, but switched to run for the Central District of the Transportation Commission.
Southern District
Incumbent Republican Commissioner Steve Renfroe, who was appointed to the office in September 2013 after Leonard Bentz resigned to become executive director of the South Mississippi Planning and Development District, is not running for election to a full term in office. Sam Britton and State Senator Tony Smith are running for the Republican nomination. State Senator Philip Moran and Hancock County Supervisor Steve Seymour ruled out running and 2011 candidate Travis Rose chose not to run again.
Thomas Blanton was a potential Democratic candidate but he did not file and neither did any other Democrat.
Northern District
Incumbent Republican Mike Tagert, who won a special election in 2011 following the death of Democratic Commissioner Bill Minor, is running for re-election to a second full term in office. He is also running in the May 2015 special election for Mississippi's 1st congressional district. Hernando Mayor Chip Johnson has announced that he is running for the Republican nomination. An ally of Tagert, he will withdraw from the race if Tagert does not win the Congressional election.
No Democrat filed to run for this seat.
Central District
Incumbent Republican Commissioner Dick Hall, who was appointed to the Commission in 1999, is running for re-election to a fifth full term in office.
Robert Amos is running for the Democrats. Former Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. was a potential Democratic candidate, but he did not run.
Southern District
Incumbent Republican Commissioner Tom King is running for re-election to a second term in office.
Chad Toney is running for the Democrats.
Special Congressional election
A special election for Mississippi's 1st congressional district was held to fill the term left by the vacancy created by the death of Alan Nunnelee. Nunnelee, a member of the Republican Party, died on February 6, 2015. The top-two primary was held on May 12, with Democrat Walter Zinn and Republican Trent Kelly advancing. Kelly defeated Zinn in the June 12 runoff election.