Northern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert confirmed Wednesday he is considering a bid for former U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee’s vacant House seat.
Nunnelee, 56, died Friday of an inoperable brain tumor and complications from a stroke.
State law mandates Gov. Phil Bryant call a special election within 60 days of the vacancy, and candidates must qualify not less than 45 days before the election.
Tagert, a Republican who lives in Starkville, can run for the seat even though he resides just a few miles shy of Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. Oktibbeha County is split between congressional districts. A majority of the county falls within the 3rd Congressional District, which is represented by Rep. Gregg Harper. Lowndes and Clay counties both fall within the 1st Congressional District.
The state’s northern transportation district’s 33 counties includes a majority of the 1st Congressional District.
“I’ve received a lot of calls from supporters (about a future run), but I’m just now at the point of discussing my options with my family out of respect for the Nunnelee family,” Tagert said.
No other candidates have announced their intentions to run for the seat, but The Clarion-Ledger reported Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley and Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton, both Democrats, would not seek election.
Tagert was elected northern district transportation commissioner in 2011, defeating Democrat Ray Minor by almost 62,000 votes. Tagert, who holds a master’s degree in public policy from Mississippi State University, won Oktibbeha County with 60.92 percent of the vote. He carried Lowndes with about 63 percent of the vote, and squeaked a Clay County victory out with 50.77 percent of the total ballots.
Of the 33 counties that voted for northern transportation commissioner in 2011, Tagert failed to carry eight: Benton, Coahoma LeFlore, Marshall, Panola, Quitman, Tallahatchie and Tunica counties.
In his last public appearance in Starkville, he gave an update to business and community leaders on upcoming Russell Street infrastructure improvements. The estimated $900,000 project will reduce the developing business corridor’s four-lane road to three, thereby allowing new sidewalks and bike paths that will connect to other improvements linking Main Street to MSU.
Only 20 percent of the total cost will come from a joint Starkville-MSU partnership. The remainder is funded through a federal alternative transportation program.
Tagert served in the U.S. Marine Corps and the Reserves for six years and earned a bachelor’s degree from Millsaps College.
He is the first Republican to represent the northern district as transportation commissioner and only the second to hold the post statewide.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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