Mississippi 1st District
Trent Kelly (R) holds this seat and is running again. 3 candidates were on the ballot on November 3, 2026.
Who should win this race, and why?Say what you think. Other readers can answer you.Discuss
Trent Kelly
Republican · holds this seat today
ALiberty Score AOn the liberty side in 119 of 126 votes and bills.
Raised $1,314,373 since January 2025: 51% from PACs and other committees, 48% from people, 1% transfers and other income. The filing at FEC.gov
Cliff Johnson
Democrat · civil rights attorney, Ole Miss law professor
No gradeNo grade yetI have no votes in Congress to count for Johnson, and what Johnson has said and done settles only 2 of my principles. I went through it on October 28. A grade needs 4.
Raised $848,648 since January 2025: 94% from people, 4% the candidate’s own money, 2% from PACs and other committees. The filing at FEC.gov
Voting in Mississippi: how to register, vote early or vote by mail. Election Day was November 3.
Side by side
A solid letter is a grade from recorded votes on that principle. An outlined letter is on the same scale, for a candidate with no votes: it comes from what that candidate has said and done, and every source is listed below.
Cliff Johnson, on the record
I have no votes in Congress to count for Johnson, so the grade above comes from this list: what Johnson has said and done on my principles. Each line has its source, and each is marked with the same test I use for votes.
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Johnson says he would end the tariff policies that he says hurt consumers and farmers.
“That means ending chaotic tariff policies that hurt consumers and farmers”
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Opposing broad tariffs is with liberty on free markets.
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As a plaintiff-side witness he testified that Mississippi's 2025 ban on DEI practices in public schools put him at risk of discipline for teaching the First, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
“I can teach my class as usual and run the serious risk of being disciplined”
- By the test I use for votes
- Not clear either way
Objecting to a law that restricts what a professor may teach is the with side of the free-speech measure.
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He says people who have lived in the country undocumented for some time without a violent crime should have a path to permanent status.
“I believe that people who have been in this country undocumented for some period of time who have not committed a violent crime should have a path to permanent status.”
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
A path to permanent status for people here illegally is on the against side of the migration measure.
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He says he would vote to get rid of the version of ICE that uses masked agents who ignore constitutional protections.
“I’ll vote to get rid of that ICE.”
- By the test I use for votes
- Against liberty
A vote to get rid of ICE as it operates is on the against side of the migration measure.
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He says the country cannot have an open southern border and agrees with controlling it.
“I think we can’t have an open Southern border,”
- By the test I use for votes
- With liberty
Backing control of the border is on the with side of the migration measure.
Also on the ballot
Johnny Baucom (Libertarian).
Who is on the ballot: the state election offices, as listed on Wikipedia on November 3, 2026, checked against the candidate file of the Federal Election Commission. See a name that is wrong or missing? Say so in the discussion.
Who should win this race, and why?
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Discussion
Mississippi 1st District
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