Mississippi Treasurer election, 2015

2015 Mississippi Treasurer Election

Table of Contents Candidates Results Key deadlines 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: Lynn Fitch

The Mississippi Treasurer election took place on November 3, 2015, following a primary on August 4, 2015. Incumbent Lynn Fitch (R) was first elected in 2011 and she was running for a second term in 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. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Mississippi state law stipulates that an individual can only participate in a party's primary if he or she "intends to support the nominations made in the primary" in which he or she participates. However, this is generally considered an unenforceable requirement. Consequently, Mississippi's primary is effectively open.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Candidates

General election

☐ Lynn Fitch (Incumbent) a
☐ Viola V. McFarland

Lost in the primary

David McRae

Results

General

Mississippi State Treasurer, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lynn Fitch Incumbent	79.2%	516,666
	Reform	Viola V. McFarland	20.8%	135,878
Total Votes				652,544
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Primary

Democratic

There was no Democratic primary in 2015 as no candidate from the party filed to run.

Republican

Incumbent Fitch defeated McRae in the Republican primary and faced third-party challenger Viola V. McFarland in the general election.

Mississippi Treasurer Republican Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Lynn Fitch	56.6%	154,492
David McRae	43.4%	118,411
Total Votes		272,903
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State.

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)

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

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 $580,508 and spent a total of $852,110.72 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
Lynn Fitch	Mississippi Treasurer	$116,760.06	$119,809.00	$178,286.90	$58,282.16
David McRae	Mississippi Treasurer	$378,420.89	$460,699.00	$673,823.82	$165,296.07
Viola V. McFarland	Mississippi Treasurer	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0
Grand Total Raised					$580,508
Grand Total Spent					$852,110.72

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 $261,230 and spent a total of $206,370.28 during this reporting period. This information was last updated on July 26, 2015.

Campaign Contributions and Expenditures
Candidate	Office	Beginning balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Ending balance
Lynn Fitch	Mississippi Treasurer	$106,313.07	$44,680.00	$34,233.01	$116,760.06
David McRae	Mississippi Treasurer	$334,008.16	$216,550.00	$172,137.27	$378,420.89
Viola V. McFarland	Mississippi Treasurer	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0
Grand Total Raised					$261,230
Grand Total Spent					$206,370.28

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 $242,725 and spent a total of $73,214.69 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
Lynn Fitch	Mississippi Treasurer	$110,765.36	$33,725.00	$38,177.29	$106,313.07
David McRae	Mississippi Treasurer	$160,045.56	$209,000.00	$35,037.40	$334,008.16
Viola V. McFarland	Mississippi Treasurer	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0
Grand Total Raised					$242,725
Grand Total Spent					$73,214.69

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 $340,288.25 and spent a total of $166,056.43 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
Lynn Fitch	Mississippi Treasurer	$97,390.44	$88,359.25	$74,172.99	$110,765.36
David McRae	Mississippi Treasurer	$0	$251,729.00	$91,683.44	$160,045.56
Viola V. McFarland	Mississippi Treasurer	$0.00	$200.00	$200.00	$0
Grand Total Raised					$340,288.25
Grand Total Spent					$166,056.43

Duties

The duties of the treasurer are detailed in the Mississippi Code and listed on the treasurer's website and are as follows:

• To invest and account for general, special, clearing and special purpose investment funds, as well as bond proceeds, according to specific legislated authorization and direction;
• To account for and invest trust funds in the custody of the Treasurer;
• To account for and disburse funds for scheduled payments on bonded indebtedness;
• To prepare all reports and maintain all records required by the Federal Tax Reform Act for calculating any required arbitrage rebate;
• To distribute proportionate tax revenues to counties, cities, and other taxing districts of the State;
• To monitor the cash position of all Treasury funds to insure that cash balances are invested immediately and sufficient cash balances are on hand to pay obligations as they become due;
• To provide a cash flow projection for the timing of receipts and disbursements;
• To identify and recommend to other state agencies the use of cash management techniques which speed collection and increase earnings on investment balances;
• To publish semi-annual GAAP report packages on all funds managed by the Treasurer for inclusion in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report prepared by the Department of Finance and Administration;
• To act as custodian of unclaimed property reported to the Treasurer and attempt to locate the rightful owners so that they may claim their property;
• To serve as Treasurer to the Mississippi Employment Security Commission;
• To insure that all State deposits in approved depository institutions are collateralized at 105% of the deposit balance according to statute;
• To serve as custodian for securities pledged to the State and its agencies;
• To annually approve and issue a commission to all financial institutions serving as depositories for State funds; and
• To process and pay all warrants issued by the State in payment of its obligations;
• The State Treasurer also represents the Executive Branch on various boards and commissions.

Past elections

2011

See also: Mississippi down ballot state executive elections, 2011

Mississippi State Treasurer, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lynn Fitch	58.8%	513,132
	Democratic	Connie Moran	38.2%	333,267
	Reform	Shawn O'Hara	3%	26,421
Total Votes				872,820
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2007

Mississippi State Treasurer, 2007
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tate Reeves Incumbent	60.5%	436,833
	Democratic	Shawn O'Hara	39.5%	284,789
Total Votes				721,622
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2003

Mississippi State Treasurer, 2003
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tate Reeves	51.8%	447,860
	Democratic	Gary Anderson	46.6%	403,307
	Reform	Lee Dilworth	1.6%	13,507
Total Votes				864,674
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mississippi + Treasurer + election + 2015"

2015 Mississippi Treasurer Election News Feed

See also

• Mississippi Treasurer
• State executive official elections, 2015
• Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Mississippi Treasurer