A special election for Mississippi's 1st congressional district was held on May 12, 2015, 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.

According to Mississippi state law, Governor Phil Bryant had to call the special election within 60 days of Nunnelee's death, and had to be held at least 60 days after the call. Prospective candidates had to submit a petition for ballot access consisting of at least 1,000 signatures of qualified Mississippi voters with the office of the Secretary of State of Mississippi at least 45 days before the election.

The election was won by Republican Trent Kelly.

Election format All candidates ran together on the same primary ballot, irrespective of party affiliation. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff was held on June 2 between Trent Kelly (R) and Walter Zinn (D), the top two finishers.

Candidates Note: Special elections in Mississippi are nonpartisan. Party identification is for informational purposes only.

Republican Party Declared Boyce Adams, nominee for the Northern District of the Mississippi Public Service Commission in 2011 Sam Adcock, businessman Nancy Adams Collins, state senator Ed "Doc" Holliday, dentist Starner Jones, emergency room physician Trent Kelly, (Lee, Pontotoc, Alcorn, Monroe, Itawamba, Prentiss and Tishomingo Counties) District Attorney Chip Mills, Itawamba County Prosecutor Greg Pirkle, attorney and son of Estus Pirkle Henry Ross, former mayor of Eupora and candidate for the seat in 2010 and 2012 Daniel Sparks, attorney Mike Tagert, Northern District Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Transportation Quentin Whitwell, former Jackson City Councilman

Withdrew Chris Brown, state representative

Declined Lynn Fitch, Mississippi State Treasurer Merle Flowers, former state senator Tommy Irwin, mayor of Corinth Chip Johnson, mayor of Hernando James Maxwell, judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals Brad Mayo, state representative Glenn McCullough, former mayor of Tupelo, former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority and candidate for the seat in 2008 Mandy McGrevey Gunasekara, counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Joseph Murray, attorney and author Tori Nunnelee, widow of former Congressman Alan Nunnelee John Oxford, director of Corporate Communication for Renasant Bank David Parker, state senator Amanda Tollison, attorney Gray Tollison, state senator Amy Tuck, former Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi Todd Wade, former NFL player

Democratic Party Declared Walter Zinn, attorney and political aide

Declined Hob Bryan, state senator Travis Childers, former U.S. Representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014 Steve Holland, state representative Eric Powell, former state senator Brandon Presley, Public Service Commissioner and former mayor of Nettleton (ran for re-election) Scott Ross, former mayor of West Point Jason Shelton, Mayor of Tupelo

Libertarian Party Did Not File Danny Bedwell, businessman and Libertarian nominee for the seat in 2012 and 2014

General election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report May 1, 2015 Inside Elections March 6, 2015

Fundraising Campaign Finance Reports through April 22 Candidate Raised Spent Cash on Hand Debt Boyce Adams $358,918 $304,876 $54,041 $245,408 Sam Adcock $241,033 $123,769 $117,263 $120,000 Nancy Collins $198,421 $163,465 $34,956 $141,983 Ed Holliday $121,165 $46,903 $58,521 $100,000 Starner Jones $385,901 $327,233 $58,667 $350,000 Trent Kelly $117,703 $60,553 $57,150 $0 Chip Mills $119,250 $100,351 $18,898 $30,000 Greg Pirkle $291,010 $144,424 $146,585 $100,000 Henry Ross $92,388 $33,390 $58,696 $115,911 Daniel Sparks $27,100 $15,977 $11,123 $8,617 Mike Tagert $371,965 $245,392 $126,572 $0 Quentin Whitwell $119,965 $95,187 $24,727 $0 Walter Zinn $11,552 $8,794 $2,752 $0 Source: Federal Election Commission

Results

Runoff election Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report May 15, 2015

Fundraising Campaign Finance Reports through May 15 Candidate Raised Spent Cash on Hand Debt Trent Kelly $145,843 $123,618 $22,225 $0 Walter Zinn $19,056 $23,597 $(4,540) $0 Source: Federal Election Commission

Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin oferror TrentKelly (R) WalterZinn (D) UndecidedGravis MarketingGravis Marketing May 28, 2015 509 ± 4% 54% 37% 9%

Results

By county CountyTrent KellyRepublicanWalter ZinnDemocraticMarginTotal#%#%#%Alcorn2,84179.25%74420.75%2,09758.49%3,585Benton69662.14%42437.86%27224.29%1,120Calhoun1,82072.57%68827.43%1,13245.14%2,508Chickasaw1,96752.18%1,80347.82%1644.35%3,770Choctaw1,14175.12%37824.88%76350.23%1,519Clay2,09246.50%2,40753.50%-315-7.00%4,499DeSoto9,76478.31%2,70421.69%7,06056.62%12,468Itawamba3,12788.53%40511.47%2,72277.07%3,532Lafayette3,33858.16%2,40141.84%93716.33%5,739Lee10,72373.64%3,83926.36%6,88447.27%14,562Lowndes5,28363.38%3,05236.62%2,23126.77%8,335Marshall1,93246.13%2,25653.87%-324-7.74%4,188Monroe4,11664.27%2,28835.73%1,82828.54%6,404Oktibbeha (part)32064.26%17835.74%14228.51%498Pontotoc4,03872.74%1,51327.26%2,52545.49%5,551Prentiss2,52877.83%72022.17%1,80855.67%3,248Tate2,04171.82%80128.18%1,24043.63%2,842Tippah2,47280.26%60819.74%1,86460.52%3,080Tishomingo2,02684.88%36115.12%1,66569.75%2,387Union3,66381.96%80618.04%2,85763.93%4,469Webster1,72886.23%27613.77%1,45272.46%2,004Winston1,86061.20%1,17938.80%68122.41%3,039Totals69,51669.97%29,83130.03%39,68539.95%99,347

References

External links Trent Kelly campaign website Walter Zinn campaign website