List of candidates running in state executive elections, 2015

This page contains all potential or announced candidates in the 2015 state executive elections.

There were 25 state executive seats up for election in three states in November 2015. The individual state tabs below are populated with candidates identified as filed, announced or potential candidates for these offices.

Ballotpedia staff have counted 109 filed, announced and potential candidates in the 2015 state executive elections. Of those 109 candidates, there were:

• 36 Democratic candidates
• 50 Republican candidates
• 1 nonpartisan or third party candidates

Note: Prior to the signature filing deadline, candidates will be added when Ballotpedia writers come across declared candidates. If you see a name of a candidate who is missing, please email us and we will add that name. As the election draws closer, more information will be added to this page.

Kentucky

There were seven state executive seats up for election in Kentucky in 2015: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and agriculture commissioner.

Governor

• James Comer Jr.
• Hal Heiner
• Will T. Scott
• Drew Curtis
• Matt Bevin
• Geoff Young
• Blackii Whyte
• Jack Conway

Lieutenant governor

• K.C. Crosbie
• Sannie Overly
• Chris McDaniel (Kentucky)
• Rodney Coffey
• Heather Curtis
• Johnathan Masters
• Jenean M. Hampton
• Philip Jacobs (Kentucky)

Attorney general

• Andy Beshear
• Whitney Westerfield
• Michael T. Hogan (Kentucky)

Secretary of state

• Stephen L. Knipper
• Alison Lundergan Grimes
• Charles Lovett

Auditor

• Adam Edelen
• Mike Harmon

Treasurer

• Rick Nelson (Kentucky)
• Allison Ball
• Richard Henderson (Kentucky state representative)
• Neville Blakemore
• Kenny Imes
• James Glenn Jr.
• Jon Larson
• Daniel Grossberg

Agriculture commissioner

• Jean-Marie Lawson Spann
• Ryan Quarles
• Richard Heath

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Past elections

2011

Governor and lieutenant governor

Governor and Lt. Governor of Kentucky, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Steve Beshear and Jerry E. Abramson	55.7%	464,245
	Republican	David Williams and Richie Farmer	35.3%	294,034
	Independent	Gatewood Galbraith and Dea Riley	9%	74,860
Total Votes				833,139
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Attorney general

Attorney General of Kentucky, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jack Conway Incumbent	55%	449,638
	Republican	Todd P'Pool	45%	367,661
Total Votes				817,299
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Secretary of state

Kentucky Secretary of State, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Alison Lundergan Grimes	60.6%	494,368
	Republican	Bill Johnson	39.4%	321,065
Total Votes				815,433
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Auditor

Kentucky Auditor, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Adam Edelen	55.8%	440,345
	Republican	John T. Kemper III	44.2%	349,366
	Independent	Kim C. Hay	0%	75
Total Votes				789,786
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Treasurer

Kentucky Treasurer, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Todd Hollenbach Incumbent	48.8%	393,413
	Republican	K.C. Crosbie	46.6%	375,916
	Libertarian	Ken Moellman	4.6%	37,261
Total Votes				806,590
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Agriculture commissioner

Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	James Comer Jr.	63.8%	519,183
	Democratic	Robert Farmer	36.2%	294,663
Total Votes				813,846
Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State

Louisiana

There were seven state executive seats up for election in Louisiana in 2015: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, agriculture commissioner and insurance commissioner.

Governor

• Jay Dardenne
• David Vitter
• John Bel Edwards (Louisiana)
• Scott Angelle
• Gregory Taylor (Louisiana gubernatorial candidate)
• Beryl Billiot
• Kip Holden

Lieutenant governor

• Richard Gallot, Jr.
• John Young (Louisiana)
• Billy Nungesser
• Elbert Guillory

Attorney general

• Jeff Landry
• Marty Maley
• Ike Jackson

Secretary of state

• Chris Tyson
• Tom Schedler

Treasurer

• John Neely Kennedy

Agriculture commissioner

• Michael Strain
• Jamie LaBranche

Insurance commissioner

• James Donelon
• Matt Parker (Louisiana)
• Donald Hodge

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Past elections

2011

Governor

Governor of Louisiana, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bobby Jindal Incumbent	65.8%	673,239
	Democratic	Tara Hollis	17.9%	182,925
	Democratic	Cary Deaton	4.9%	50,071
	Democratic	Trey Roberts	3.3%	33,280
	Independent	David Blanchard	2.6%	26,705
	Democratic	Niki Bird Papazoglakis	2.1%	21,885
	Libertarian	Scott Lewis	1.2%	12,528
	Independent	Robert Lang, Jr.	0.9%	9,109
	Independent	Ron Caesar	0.8%	8,179
	Independent	Leonard Bollingham	0.5%	5,242
Total Votes				1,023,163
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Lieutenant governor

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Primary, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jay Dardenne Incumbent	53.1%	504,541
	Republican	Billy Nungesser	46.9%	445,049
Total Votes				949,590
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Attorney general

Buddy Caldwell was unopposed in his re-election bid on October 22, 2011.

Secretary of state

Louisiana Secretary of State, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Schedler Incumbent	50.5%	449,616
	Republican	Jim Tucker	49.5%	441,170
Total Votes				890,786
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Treasurer

John Neely Kennedy was unopposed in his re-election bid on October 22, 2011.

Agriculture commissioner

Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mike Strain Incumbent	66.5%	640,886
	Democratic	Jamie LaBranche	27.8%	267,942
	Reform	Belinda Alexandrenko	5.7%	54,888
Total Votes				963,716
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Insurance commissioner

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	James Donelon Incumbent	67.5%	651,559
	Democratic	Donald Hodge	32.5%	314,317
Total Votes				965,876
Election results via Louisiana Secretary of State

Mississippi

There were 11 state executive seats up for election in Mississippi in 2015: governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner and three seats on the public service commission.

Governor

• Phil Bryant
• Shawn O'Hara
• Mitch Young
• Robert Gray (Mississippi)
• Valerie Short
• Vicki Slater

Lieutenant governor

• Tim Johnson (Mississippi)
• Tate Reeves
• Jelanie Barr
• Rosa B. Williams
• Ron Williams (Mississippi)
• Alisha Nelson McElhenney

Attorney general

• Jim Hood
• Mike Hurst

Secretary of state

• Randy Walker (Mississippi)
• Delbert Hosemann
• Charles E. Graham (Mississippi)

Auditor

• Stacey Pickering
• Mary Hawkins Butler
• Lajena Walley
• Jocelyn Pepper Pritchett

Treasurer

• Lynn Fitch
• David McRae
• Viola V. McFarland

Agriculture commissioner

• Cindy Hyde-Smith
• Addie Lee Green

Insurance commissioner

• Mike Chaney
• John Mosley
• Johnny McLeod

Public service commission

• Tom Blanton
• LaTrice D. Notree
• Tony Greer
• Bruce Burton
• Mike Collier (Mississippi)
• Brent Bailey
• Lonny Kenneth Spence
• Mike Maynard
• Cecil Brown
• Sam Britton
• Brandon Presley
• Tony Smith (Mississippi)

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Past elections

2011

Governor

Governor of Mississippi, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Phil Bryant	61%	544,851
	Democratic	Johnny DuPree	39%	348,617
Total Votes				893,468
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Lieutenant governor

Lieutenant Governor, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tate Reeves	80.3%	644,205
	Reform	Tracella Lou O'Hara Hill	19.7%	157,547
Total Votes				801,752
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Attorney general

Attorney General of Mississippi, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jim Hood Incumbent	61.1%	536,827
	Republican	Steve Simpson	38.9%	342,086
Total Votes				878,913
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

Secretary of state

Delbert Hosemann won re-election without opposition on November 8, 2011.

Auditor

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

Treasurer

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

Agriculture commissioner

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

Insurance commissioner

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

Public service commission

Central

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

North

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

South

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

Recent news

Kentucky

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Kentucky + state + executive + elections + 2015"

2015 Kentucky State Executive Elections News Feed

Louisiana

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Louisiana+ state + executive + elections + 2015"

2015 Louisiana State Executive Elections News Feed

Mississippi

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mississippi + state + executive + elections + 2015"

2015 Mississippi State Executive Elections News Feed

See also

• State executive official elections, 2015
• Kentucky state executive official elections, 2015
• Louisiana state executive official elections, 2015
• Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015

External links

Suggest a link

• Kentucky Secretary of State
• Louisiana Secretary of State
• Mississippi Secretary of State