Columbus attorney John Brady’s campaign raised nearly $240,000 in his unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court, according to documents filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office.
The Committee to Elect John Brady to the Mississippi Supreme Court raised $239,968, according to a Nov. 22 filing report, and spent $235,058 on his campaign for the District 3, Position 1 seat.
The Committee to Elect Bobby Chamberlin for Supreme Court raised $105,646 for Brady’s opponent. Chamberlin, a Hernando resident who sits as a judge for Mississippi’s 17th Circuit, spent $92,931.
Brady and Chamberlin advanced to a Nov. 29 runoff after neither garnered more than 50 percent of the vote among the four-candidate field in the Nov. 8 general election. Chamberlin ultimately triumphed, pulling in 55 percent of the vote across the Northern District’s 33 counties.
Though he fell short in the campaign, Brady said he raised funds effectively because his treasurer started locally with people who are familiar with him, then spread out across the district. Because judicial race candidates cannot fundraise directly, he said he hired a professional fundraiser.
Brady said with such a large portion of Mississippi voting in the race, it was important to raise funds to help spread his name across the district.
“With four people being in the race, and none known very well outside their home county, each candidate had to work toward name recognition,” Brady said. “We had to raise money and needed to then be able to do the efforts to get my name out there and get my message out there.”
Brady said he learned a lot from his campaign and felt the experience was rewarding and positive for him.
“Although I lost, I don’t regret running one bit,” he said. “That said, I have no plans or desire to seek public office. I’m a shareholder in Mitchell, McNutt and Sams. I’m happy to be one and plan to be one for a long time.”
Chamberlin did not answer calls for comment by press time.
Committees for the James T. “Jim” Kitchens and Steve Crampton campaigns combined raised less than Chamberlin’s committee alone, according to Nov. 1 filing reports with the Secretary of State’s office. Kitchens, a Caledonia resident who serves a judge for the Mississippi 16th Circuit, raised $63,998 and spent $55,781 on his campaign. Crampton, a Tupelo attorney, raised $40,334 and spent $34,008.
Crampton and Kitchens failed to advance to the runoff after receiving 15 and 25 percent of the vote, respectively, on Nov. 8.
Brady’s fundraising accounted for 53 percent of the $449,946 candidates raised for the Supreme Court race and nearly one-third of the combined $741,608 raised for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals races.
Court of Appeals
The Committee to Elect Jack Wilson, who triumphed in his re-election bid for the state Court of Appeals District 3, Position 1 seat, raised $201,798, according to a Nov. 1 filing report. Wilson’s campaign spent $186,991.
Wilson ran against Ed Hannan in the runoff. The Committee to Elect Ed Hannan raised $75,809 and spent $66,675.
Wilson and Hannan advanced to the runoff from a three-man field after the Nov. 8 general election. Dow Yoder, who garnered about 22 percent of the vote in the general election, raised $13,999.
Wilson’s fundraising accounted for about 69 percent of the money raised in the Court of Appeals race.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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