Trent Kelly

After the death of Republican Congressman Alan Nunnelee in 2015, Kelly (also a Republican) entered the race to succeed him. Nunnelee's widow, Tori Nunnelee, contributed to Kelly's campaign.[9]

In the first round, Kelly finished second in a thirteen-candidate field, behind Democrat Walter Zinn.[10] As no candidate received a majority of votes, Kelly and Zinn advanced to a second round of voting on June 2.[10] Several of the other candidates in the race endorsed Kelly after they were eliminated.[11]

In the heavily Republican district, Kelly took 70% of the vote to his Democratic opponent's 30%.[12][13][14]

Kelly won his primary in March 2016, defeating Paul Clever of Olive Branch both district-wide and in DeSoto County for the Republican nomination for the First District House seat. Kelly had 18,152 votes in DeSoto County, or 80 percent, while Clever got 4,497 votes, or 20 percent, in his home county.

Kelly then won reelection with 67.57% of the vote compared with Jacob Owens (D) at 27.97%, followed by Chase Wilson (Libertarian) at 2.92% and Cathy L. Toole (Reform) at 1.45%.

Kelly was sworn in by House Speaker John Boehner on June 9, 2015.[15] In his first term, he served on House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Small Business.

Kelly serves on House Armed Services Committee, the Agriculture Committee and Small Business Committee, where he serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations.

In December 2020, Kelly was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[16] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[17][18][19]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Kelly and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[20][21] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Kelly and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[22]

On June 14, 2017, in Alexandria, Virginia, Republican member of Congress and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana was shot while practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, scheduled for the following day. Also shot were David Bailey and Crystal Griner, a Capitol Police officer assigned to protect Scalise; Zack Barth, a congressional aide; and Matt Mika, a Tyson Foods lobbyist.

A ten-minute shootout ensued between the shooter—James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois, a left-wing activist[23][24]—and officers from the Capitol and Alexandria Police. Media reports state Hodgkinson began firing from the fence adjacent to the third base dugout. At the time of the shooting, Kelly was playing third base and was roughly ten yards away from Hodgkinson. As Hodgkinson opened fire, Kelly is reported to be the first person to be shot at and the first to alert the rest of the team there was an active shooter by yelling "shooter, active shooter" as he evacuated himself from the field. Officers shot Hodgkinson, who died from his wounds later that day at George Washington University Hospital.[25] Scalise and Mika were taken to nearby hospitals, where they underwent surgery.[26] Scalise is the first sitting member of Congress to have been shot since Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in 2011.[27]

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations
• Committee on House Armed Services Committee
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces

• Veterinary Medicine Caucus[28]
• Republican Study Committee[29]