State executive official elections, 2015
2016→ ←2014 |
 |
May 19, 2015 |
August 4, 2015 |
October 24, 2015 |
November 3, 2015 |
(if necessary): November 21, 2015 |
Three states held elections for25 state executive seats in 2015.Kentucky,Louisiana andMississippi had scheduled elections in 2015. The 2015 election cycle was relatively light on offices up for election compared to2014, when 225 seats were up for election in 43 states.
Kentucky and Mississippi held their general elections on November 3, 2015, following primaries earlier in the year. Louisiana held a blanket primary on October 24, 2015, and a runoff on November 21, 2015.
Gubernatorial races in 2015
There werethree gubernatorial seats up for election in 2015:
- Kentucky:
Steve Beshear could not run for re-election due to term limits.[1] Beshear was first elected in 2007 and defeated Republican challengerDavid Williams by 20.4 percent in 2011. In 2015,Matt Bevin (R) defeatedAttorney GeneralJack Conway (D) by 8.7 percent. - Louisiana:
Bobby Jindal could not run for re-election due to term limits.[2] Jindal was first elected in 2007 and won re-election in 2011 by 47.9 percent over Democratic challengerTara Hollis and eight other challengers. In 2015, State RepresentativeJohn Bel Edwards (D) defeated U.S. SenatorDavid Vitter (R) by 12.2 percent. - Mississippi:Phil Bryant ran for re-election in 2015. He defeatedDemocratic challengerRobert Gray by 34.5 percent. Bryant was first elected in 2011, when he defeated Democratic challengerJohnny DuPree by 22 percent.
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
Kentucky,Louisiana andMississippi heldthree lieutenant gubernatorial elections. Each state has a different procedure for selecting a lieutenant governor:
- Kentucky elects the governor and lieutenant governor on a shared ticket in both the primary and general elections, with both seats on the same ballot line in each election.
- Louisiana holds separate primary elections but places the winner of each party's gubernatorial primary with the lieutenant gubernatorial primary winner on a shared ticket in the general election.
- Mississippi runs separate elections in both the primary and the general elections.
Offices up for election
Other offices up for election in 2015 include:
Election details
Please click the tabs to find more information.
Election dates
| 2015 State Executive Primary Information |
|---|
| State | Signature Filing Deadline | Primary Date | Days between Deadline and Primary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky |  1/27/2015 | 5/19/2015 | 112 |
| Louisiana | 9/10/2015 | 10/24/2015 | 44 |
| Mississippi | 2/27/2015 | 8/4/2015 | 158 |
Incumbent information
Voter registration
Kentucky
- See also:Voting in Kentucky
Voters in Kentucky can register to vote by printing off avoter registration card and mailing the completed card to the Kentucky State Board of Elections. A voter registration card can also be obtained from a county clerk.[3]
Applicants must identify their party registration on the card. Voters who identify as unaffiliated or as a third-party registrant can only vote in nonpartisan races during partisan primaries. Unaffiliated and third-party voters can vote for any candidate during general or special elections. Registered voters may switch party affiliation by December 31 without jeopardizing their registration for elections in the following year.[3]
The following criteria must be met to qualify as a registered voter in Kentucky:[3]
- U.S. citizenship
- Resident of Kentucky
- At least 18 years of age by the next general election
- Do not have a felony conviction or have been granted restored rights by executive pardon
- Have not been judged "mentally incompetent" in court
- Do not claim the right to vote in other states
Louisiana
- See also:Voting in Louisiana
For full information aboutvoting in Louisiana, contact thestate election agency.
Voters in Louisiana can register to vote byfilling out an online application. The online form can be submitted electronically if the applicant uses a driver's license as the required form of identification. Applicants can also print out their online forms and mail them to their parish registrars.[4]
Louisiana also offers myriad locations for in-person registration up to 30 days prior to an election. These locations include parish registrars, offices of the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles or the Louisiana Department of Social Services, food stamp offices and recruitment offices for any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Applicants can use their driver's licenses, birth certificates, utility bills or government-issued documents with their name and current address as valid forms of identification.[4]
Voters must meet the following qualifications to vote in Louisiana:[4]
- U.S. citizenship
- At least 18 years old by the next election
- Resident of Louisiana and parish indicated on registration
- Not under order of imprisonment for felony conviction
- Have not been judged "mentally incompetent" in court
Mississippi
- See also:Voting in Mississippi
For full information aboutvoting in Mississippi, contact thestate election agency.
Voters in Mississippi can register to vote by filling out registration forms at county clerk offices. TheMississippi Secretary of State also offers amail-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.[5]
The following qualifications must be met to successfully register to vote in Mississippi:[5]
☐ 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
Margin of victory
The following tables detail margins of victory for state executive elections in Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi from 2003 to 2011. A cell with a "-" indicates an unopposed race.
Kentucky
The partisan composition of state executive seats changed from an even split of three Democrats and three Republicans in 2003 to a five-to-one advantage for Democrats in 2011. The margin of victory expanded from 2003 to 2011 in races forgovernor andsecretary of state.
| Margin of victory analysis, 2003-2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | 2011 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2011 | 2007 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2007 | 2003 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2003 |
| Kentucky | Governor/Lieutenant Governor | 20.4 | | 17.4 | | 10 | |
| Kentucky | Attorney General | 10.1 | | 21 | | 0.6 | |
| Kentucky | Secretary of State | 21.3 | | 14.2 | | 5 | |
| Kentucky | Auditor | 10.5 | | 18.4 | | 1.6 | |
| Kentucky | Treasurer | 2.1 | | 15 | | 13.2 | |
| Kentucky | Commissioner of Agriculture | 27.5 | | 28 | | 10.4 | |
Louisiana
The partisan composition of state executive seats changed from a five-to-two advantage for Democrats in 2003 to a complete sweep by Republicans in 2011. There were two unopposed statewide seats each in the 2007 and 2011 elections.
| Margin of victory analysis, 2003-2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | 2011 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2011 | 2007 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2007 | 2003 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2003 |
| Louisiana | Governor | 47.9 | | 36.4 | | 3.9 | |
| Louisiana | Lieutenant Governor | 6.5 | | 26.3 | | 33.1 | |
| Louisiana | Attorney General | - | | 33.2 | | 7.1 | |
| Louisiana | Secretary of State | 0.9 | | 32.1 | | 49.9 | |
| Louisiana | Treasurer | - | | - | | - | |
| Louisiana | Commissioner of Agriculture | 38.7 | | - | | 31.3 | |
| Louisiana | Insurance Commissioner | 34.9 | | 15.3 | | 15.4 | |
Mississippi
The partisan composition of state executive seats changed from a six-to-five split in favor of Democrats in 2003 to a nine-to-two advantage for Republicans in 2011. In the 2011 elections, no winning candidate had a margin of victory less than 10.7 percent.
| Margin of victory analysis, 2003-2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | 2011 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2011 | 2007 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2007 | 2003 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2003 |
| Mississippi | Governor | 22 | | 15.8 | | 6.7 | |
| Mississippi | Lieutenant Governor | 60.7 | | 17.1 | | 23.9 | |
| Mississippi | Attorney General | - | | 19.7 | | 35.5 | |
| Mississippi | Secretary of State | 22.1 | | 16.5 | | 47.6 | |
| Mississippi | Auditor | 51.4 | | 9.9 | | 52.7 | |
| Mississippi | Treasurer | 20.6 | | 21.1 | | 5.2 | |
| Mississippi | Commissioner of Agriculture | 15.3 | | 8.6 | | 34 | |
| Mississippi | Insurance Commissioner | 27.3 | | 13 | | 46.6 | |
| Mississippi | Public Service Commission, Central District | 12.9 | | 3.9 | | 19.1 | |
| Mississippi | Public Service Commission, Southern District | 20.1 | | 11.8 | | 4.2 | |
| Mississippi | Public Service Commission, Northern District | 10.7 | | 15.7 | | 67.7 | |
Recent news
Kentucky
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Kentucky + Beshear + election + 2015"
Louisiana
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Louisiana + Jindal + election + 2015"
Mississippi
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mississippi + Bryant + election + 2015"
See also
- State executive offices
- List of candidates running in state executive elections, 2015
- Kentucky state executive official elections, 2015
- Louisiana state executive official elections, 2015
- Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015
- Kentucky elections, 2015
- Louisiana elections, 2015
- Mississippi elections, 2015
External links
Footnotes
- ↑Huffington Post, "Gov. Steve Beshear urges fellow Democrats to take Obamacare 'and run with it,'" June 24, 2014
- ↑The Times-Picayune, "Term limits have Louisiana politicians searching for new elections," October 20, 2013
- ↑3.03.13.2Kentucky Secretary of State, "Register to Vote," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑4.04.14.2Louisiana Secretary of State, "Register to Vote," accessed December 11, 2014
- ↑5.05.1Mississippi Secretary of State, "Voter Registration Information," accessed December 12, 2014
