Trent Kelly is the incumbent Republican U.S. Representative for Mississippi's 1st District, elected in a 2015 special election. A Mississippi attorney and former district attorney, he served 39 years in the Mississippi Army National Guard, retiring as a Major General in April 2025. He sits on the Agriculture, Intelligence and Armed Services committees.[1][2]
Kelly was born March 1, 1966, in Union, Mississippi, and graduated from Union High School and East Central Community College.[2] He earned a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of Mississippi and, in 2010, a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.[1][2]
Kelly began serving in the Mississippi Army National Guard as a combat engineer in 1985. He mobilized for Desert Storm in 1990, deployed to Iraq in 2005 and again in 2009-2010 as a battalion commander, and retired as a Major General in April 2025 after 39 years of service. His decorations include two Bronze Stars and the Combat Action Badge.[1][3][2]
Before Congress, Kelly worked as a department store manager and in private law practice in Saltillo, and he served as Tupelo city prosecutor from 1999 to 2011.[1][2] He was district attorney for Mississippi's 1st Judicial District from 2012 to 2015, handling felony cases in seven north Mississippi counties.[1][2] He won the 2015 special election to succeed Rep. Alan Nunnelee, taking 70% of the vote against Democrat Walter Zinn in the June 2, 2015 runoff.[1][2]
In the 119th Congress Kelly sits on the Agriculture, Intelligence (Permanent Select) and Armed Services committees, and he chairs the Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces.[1] He was unopposed in the March 10, 2026 Republican primary.[1] According to his congressional website, he lives in Saltillo with his wife, Sheila, and their three children, and is a member of Saltillo First United Methodist Church.[2]
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
