Mississippi down ballot state executive elections, 2011

2011 State Executive Official Elections

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Main article: Mississippi state executive official elections, 2011

Five down ballot state executive positions were up for election in Mississippi in 2011. The general election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, following a primary on August 2, 2011. Runoffs took place on August 23 to determine the winners of primary races in which no candidate won at least 50 percent of the popular vote. 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.

The offices up for election were:

• Mississippi Treasurer
• Mississippi State Auditor
• Mississippi Public Service Commission (3 seats)
• Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance
• Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

Treasurer

Republican Tate Reeves, the incumbent state treasurer, ran for lieutenant governor in 2011, leaving the seat open. In the general election contest, Republican Lynn Fitch defeated Democrat Connie Moran and Reform Party candidate Shawn O'Hara.

Race background

Democrat Connie Moran did not face a primary challenger, while Republican Lynn Fitch faced a primary and a runoff primary. Shawn O'Hara initially filed to run on the Democratic ticket, but was refused by the state Democratic Party executive committee as he was already a Reform Party candidate for governor. According to state law, a candidate can run for only one office at a time. O'Hara appealed the decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court, but his request was denied. O'Hara eventually was removed from the gubernatorial ballot as he had also filed to run for treasurer as a Reform Party candidate.

A Republican primary took place on August 2. The candidates were Mississippi State Personnel Board Executive Director Lynn Fitch, adjunct law professor at Mississippi College Lucien Smith and freshman state Sen. Lee Yancey. Y’all Politics predicted that Smith would lead in votes, but that a runoff between him and one of the other two candidates would be necessary. The Clarion-Ledger endorsed Fitch, citing her experience and qualifications. Lynn Fitch and Lee Yancey met in a runoff for the Republican nomination on August 23. Fitch won with 53 percent of the vote.

Results

General election

Mississippi 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

Republican runoff

Treasurer - Republican primary runoff results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	aLynn Fitch	53%
	Republican Party	Lee Yancey	47%
Total Votes			156,006

Republican primary

Treasurer -- Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	aLynn Fitch	38%
	Republican Party	aLee Yancey	34%
	Republican Party	Lucien Smith	29%
Total Votes			269,726

Democratic primary

Connie Moran ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

State Auditor

In the general election contest, incumbent Republican Stacey Pickering defeated Reform Party candidate Ashley Norwood.

Results

General election

Mississippi Auditor, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Stacey Pickering Incumbent	75.6%	596,395
	Reform	Ashley Norwood	24.4%	192,271
Total Votes				788,666
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Republican primary

Incumbent Stacey Pickering ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Democratic primary

No candidates qualified for this office.

Commissioner of Insurance

In the general election contest, incumbent Republican Mike Chaney defeated Democrat Louis Fondren and Reform Party candidate Barbara Dale Washer.

Results

General election

Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Chaney Incumbent	62%	538,008
	Democratic	Louis Fondren	34.7%	301,185
	Reform	Barbara Dale Washer	3.4%	29,200
Total Votes				868,393
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Republican primary

Incumbent Mike Chaney ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Democratic primary

Louis Fondren ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

Incumbent Lester Spell (R) opted to retire rather than seek re-election, leaving the seat open. In the general election, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated Democrat Joel Gill and Reform Party candidate Cathy L. Toole.

Race background

The Republican primary was a three-way contest between state Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, state Representative Dannie Reed and Max Phillips. Hyde-Smith won easily, taking 53 percent of the vote.

The Clarion-Ledger endorsed Phillips, while Hyde-Smith received the endorsement of retiring incumbent Lester Spell and Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries John McMillan.

Y’all Politics predicted incorrectly that Phillips would win a close race against Hyde-Smith.

Democrat Joel Gill and Reform Party candidate Cathy L. Toole did not face primary opposition.

Results

General election

Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Cindy Hyde-Smith	56.9%	493,417
	Democratic	Joel Gill	40.6%	352,213
	Reform	Cathy L. Toole	2.5%	21,347
Total Votes				866,977
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Republican primary

Commissioner of Agriculture -- Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith a	53%
	Republican Party	Rep. Dannie Reed	12%
	Republican Party	Max Phillips	35%
Total Votes			268,421

Democratic primary

Joel Gill ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Public Service Commission (3 seats)

Northern District

Incumbent Democrat Brandon Presley defeated Republican Boyce Adams in the general election.

Race background

Two Republicans sought their party's nomination: Executive/Co-owner of BankTEL Systems Boyce Adams and Tea Party of Mississippi founding member Marvin Cox. Adams easily defeated Cox. Adams was endorsed by the Greenwood Commonwealth.

Results

General election

Mississippi Public Service Commission (North/District 3), 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brandon Presley Incumbent	55.8%	161,099
	Republican	Boyce Adams	44.2%	127,557
Total Votes				288,656
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Republican primary

Public Service -- Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	Boyce Adams a	65%
	Republican Party	Marvin Cox	35%
Total Votes			55,174

Democratic primary

Incumbent Brandon Presley ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Central District

Incumbent Republican Lynn Posey was unopposed for his party's nomination. Charles Barbour was slated to run but instead decided to run in Senate District 25. Posey was originally elected in 2007 as a Democrat, but switched parties in December 2010. He defeated Democrat Addie Green in the general election. Independent candidate Danny Ayers had originally filed to run, but his name did not appear on the November ballot.

Results

General election

Mississippi Public Service Commission (Central/District 1), 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lynn Posey Incumbent	56.4%	157,675
	Democratic	Addie Green	43.6%	121,653
Total Votes				279,328
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Republican primary

Incumbent Lynn Posey ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Democratic primary

Public Service -- Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	Addie Green a	52%
	Democratic Party	Bruce Burton	48%
Total Votes			102,433

Southern District

In a replay of the 2007 race, incumbent Republican Leonard Bentz defeated Democrat Mike Collier in the November 8 general election.

Race background

Democrats saw a three-way contest between Thomas Blanton, James Buckhaults and Mike Collier. Since no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters, Blanton and Collier, met in a runoff on August 23. In an extremely close race, Collier won by 120 votes. Incumbent Bentz defeated Travis Rose to secure the Republican nomination.

Results

General election

Mississippi Public Service Commission (South/District 2), 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Leonard Bentz Incumbent	60.1%	178,804
	Democratic	Mike Collier	39.9%	118,813
Total Votes				297,617
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Democratic primary runoff

Public Service - Democratic primary runoff results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	aMike Collier	50%
	Democratic Party	Thomas Blanton	50%
Total Votes			83,748

Democratic primary

Public Service -- Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	aMike Collier	38%
	Democratic Party	aThomas Blanton	34%
	Democratic Party	James Buckhaults	27%
Total Votes			98,274

Republican primary

Public Service -- Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Republican Party	Leonard Bentz a	56%
	Republican Party	Travis Rose	44%
Total Votes			112,805

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
Mar. 1	Declaration of candidacy
June 18	Absentee voting begins for the primary election
July 2	Voter registration (in person) for the primary
July 3	Voter registration (postmark on a mailed application) for the primary
Aug. 2	Primary election
Aug. 23	Runoff primary election, if required
Sept. 2	Certification of results for primary
Sept. 24	Absentee voting begins for the general election
Oct. 8	Voter registration (in person) for the general election
Oct. 9	Voter registration (postmark on a mailed application) for the general election
Nov. 8	General election
Nov. 29	Runoff general election, if required
Dec. 8	Certification of results for general election

See also

• Statewide elections, 2011
• State executive official elections, 2011
• Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2011
• Mississippi lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2011
• Mississippi secretary of state election, 2011
• Mississippi attorney general election, 2011

External links

• 2011 official election results