Qualifying for county and state elected offices will begin on January 3rd, 2023 at 8 a.m. and ends on February 1st at 5 p.m. The 2023 primary election will be held on Tuesday, August 8th with a runoff, if necessary, on August 29. The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.
Though a few candidates have announced they will be running, Tishomingo County Circuit Clerk Josh McNatt affirmed that no one had yet submitted qualifying papers, or been qualified.
McNatt said the circuit clerk’s office will have the qualifying paperwork available for county-level offices. Candidates for statewide office and the legislature will go through their respective state party executive committees or with the secretary of state. The circuit clerk’s office will receive the qualifying papers and fees for the local Republican and Democrat Party candidates as well as independent candidates. Each party’s executive committee will determine candidates to be qualified, and the independent candidates will be reviewed by the county election commission.
Although independent candidates won’t have an election until the November general election, they also have to meet the February 1st deadline to qualify. Along with the qualifying fee, independent candidates are required to collect petitions signed by registered voters who live within the district or county from which they are seeking election. The number of signatures varies based on the office.
Based on conversations with local candidates, all seem to be running as Republicans this time, except for one running as independent. Historically in Tishomingo County, everyone ran on the same ticket in the county, which was Democrat, which saved county money by not having two primaries and then potential party runoffs. Whoever won in August was usually the winner and the November election was just a technicality, as no one ran as Republican, or Independent, or presumably any other party. If this turns out to be the case in 2023, the situation will be similar in all but one race.
In addition to the qualifying paperwork, candidates must fill out a statement of economic interest online within 15 days of qualifying. The candidates also have deadlines to file campaign finance reports. If the campaign finance reports are not filed on time candidates can be fined and cannot be declared the winner. In order to qualify, candidates must meet the general qualifications and the qualifications specific to the office as set by state law. If you have questions about seeking office or the process to qualify, please contact the Circuit Clerk’s Office at 662 423-7026.