Thirteen candidates have qualified to run for Mississippi’s vacant 1st Congressional District U.S. representative seat, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
Rep. Alan Nunnelee, who won election to a second term last November, died Feb. 6 of a brain tumor. Gov. Phil Bryant called for a non-partisan special election on May 12 to choose Nunnelee’s replacement. Friday was the qualifying deadline.
Two Columbus businessmen, former Airbus Helicopters senior executive Sam Adcock and Bank Tel Systems owner Boyce Adams, are among the field of hopefuls, as is Northern District Transportation Director Mike Tagert of Starkville.
Another Columbus businessman, North American Pine and Timber owner Danny Bedwell, announced in February he planned to run, but the secretary of state’s website did not list his name among qualified candidates on Saturday.
Other candidates who qualified include: state Sen. Nancy Adams Collins, R-Tupelo; Tupelo dentist Edward Troy Holliday; Pontotoc physician Starner Jones; Trent Kelly, the district attorney for the 1st Circuit Court district; Fulton attorney Michael P. “Chip” Mills Jr.; Tupelo attorney Greg Pirkle; former Eupora Mayor Henry Ross; Oxford attorney Daniel Sparks; former Jackson Councilman Quentin Whitwell; and Pontotoc attorney Walter Howard Zinn Jr.
The 1st Congressional District includes a wide swath of north Mississippi, from Desoto County to the Golden Triangle.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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