John Polk (Mississippi)

John Polk

Republican Party

Mississippi State Senate District 44

Tenure

2012 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

12

Compensation

Base salary

$23,500/year

Per diem

$166/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 7, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

University of Southern Mississippi

Personal

Profession

Small business owner

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

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John Polk (Republican Party) is a member of the Mississippi State Senate, representing District 44. He assumed office in 2012. His current term ends on January 4, 2028.

Polk (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Mississippi State Senate to represent District 44. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Biography

Polk graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. His professional experience includes owning a family business, Polk's Meat Products.

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Polk was assigned to the following committees:

• Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee, Chair
• Senate Appropriations Committee, Vice Chair
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Energy Committee
• Senate Medicaid Committee
• Public Health and Welfare Committee
• Senate Universities and Colleges Committee
• Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee

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2020-2021

Polk was assigned to the following committees:

• Senate Medicaid Committee
• Public Health and Welfare Committee
• Senate Universities and Colleges Committee
• Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee, Chairman
• Senate Appropriations Committee, Vice-Chairman
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Energy Committee
• Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee

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2019-2020

Polk was assigned to the following committees:

• Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee, Chairman
• Housing Committee
• Senate County Affairs Committee
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Energy Committee
• Finance Committee
• Senate Insurance Committee
• Senate Universities and Colleges Committee

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2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Polk served on the following committees:

2012-2013

In the 2012-2013 legislative session, Polk served on the following committees:

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2023

See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2023

General election

General election for Mississippi State Senate District 44

Incumbent John Polk won election in the general election for Mississippi State Senate District 44 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Polk (R)	100.0	12,594

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,594
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 44

Incumbent John Polk advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 44 on August 8, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Polk	100.0	7,932

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,932
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

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Polk received the following endorsements.

• Patriot Parents

2019

See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2019

General election

General election for Mississippi State Senate District 44

Incumbent John Polk won election in the general election for Mississippi State Senate District 44 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Polk (R)	100.0	14,388

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,388
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 44

Incumbent John Polk advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi State Senate District 44 on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Polk	100.0	10,824

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,824
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015

See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2015

Elections for the Mississippi State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on August 4, 2015, and the general election was held on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 27, 2015. No Democratic candidates filed for election. Incumbent John Polk was unopposed in the Republican primary. Polk ran unchallenged in the District 44 general election.

2011

See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2011

Polk won the 2011 election for Mississippi Senate District 44. He defeated Tim Ryan in the primary on August 2, 2011. No candidates ran in the Democratic primary. Polk defeated Reform Party candidate Lajena Williams in the general election on November 8, 2011.

Mississippi State Senate, District 44 General Election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Polk	87.1%	18,533
	Reform Party	Lajena Williams	12.9%	2,741
Total Votes				21,274

Mississippi State Senate, District 44 Republican Primary, 2011
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
John Polk	61.2%	7,726
Tim Ryan	38.8%	4,888
Total Votes		12,614

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Polk did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

John Polk did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

2011

Polk's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

• Fiscal Conservative

"I have owned and successfully managed Polk's Meat Products, Inc., since 1974. I have been responsible for making the hard decisions that have kept us thriving through some very difficult times. It's not my nature to waste my money, and I'm certainly not going to waste our tax dollars when I get to Jackson."

• Education

"Everyone wants good education. We've got to look at the way education is administered from the local to the state level. Let's get and keep good teachers teaching with the resources they need to do their job."

• Welfare Reform

"An out-of-control welfare system is keeping able-bodied citizens at home drawing a check instead of earning a living. Add to that a growing problem of illegals coming to work in America, and you have an economic problem that could seriously impact Mississippi if we don't stay ahead of it."

• Economic Development

"Having owned my own business since 1974, I know what has helped me grow my business and what has hindered that growth. There are many small changes we could make that would make Mississippi an even more attractive place to recruit new businesses and grow already existing businesses."

• Military

"Camp Shelby is one of the premier military training centers in America. We are fortunate to have it right here adjoining the 44th Senate District. We need to remember the men and women who train at that facillity (sic) and insure that we, as a state, offer them and their families what assistance we can to prepare them to defend our nation."

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

John Polk (Mississippi) endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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John Polk campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2023*	Mississippi State Senate District 44	Won general	$57,150	$0
2019	Mississippi State Senate District 44	Won general	$31,700	N/A**
Grand total			$88,850	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Mississippi

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Mississippi scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 3 to April 1. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Institute for Legislative Analysis Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 4 to April 5. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 5 to April 1. Americans for Prosperity Mississippi Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 7 to October 10. The session was suspended effective July 1, 2020. It had been previously suspended from March 18 to May 7. The session reconvened from August 10 to October 2. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 8 through March 29. Americans for Prosperity Mississippi Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 2 through March 28. ACLU Mississippi Legislators are scored by the ACLU on their whether their votes on bills "promote racial, cultural, and economic justice." Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 3 through March 29. There was also a special session June 5. ACLU Mississippi Legislators are scored by the ACLU on their whether their votes on bills "promote racial, cultural, and economic justice." Americans for Prosperity Mississippi Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 5 through April 21. ACLU Mississippi Legislators are scored by the ACLU on their whether their votes on bills "promote racial, cultural, and economic justice." Americans for Prosperity Mississippi Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. Empower Mississippi Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].
In 2015, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 6 through April 2. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 7 through April 2. Business and Industry Political Education Committee Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues. Empower Mississippi: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on education bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Polk and his wife, Jan, have two children and three grandchildren.

See also

2023 Elections

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Mississippi State Senate District 44

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Mississippi State Senate District 44 2012-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Mississippi State Senate

Leadership

Senators

District 1

Michael McLendon (R)

District 2

David Parker (R)

District 3

Kathy Chism (R)

District 4

Rita Parks (R)

District 5

Daniel Sparks (R)

District 6

Chad McMahan (R)

District 7

Hob Bryan (D)

District 8

Benjamin Suber (R)

District 9

Nicole Boyd (R)

District 10

Neil Whaley (R)

District 11

Reginald Jackson (D)

District 12

Derrick Simmons (D)

District 13

Sarita Simmons (D)

District 14

Lydia Chassaniol (R)

District 15

Bart Williams (R)

District 16

Angela Turner-Ford (D)

District 17

Charles Younger (R)

District 18

Jenifer Branning (R)

District 19

Kevin Blackwell (R)

District 20

Josh Harkins (R)

District 21

Bradford Blackmon (D)

District 22

Joseph Thomas (D)

District 23

Briggs Hopson (R)

District 24

David Jordan (D)

District 25

Walter Michel (R)

District 26

John Horhn (D)

District 27

Hillman Frazier (D)

District 28

Sollie Norwood (D)

District 29

David Blount (D)

District 30

Dean Kirby (R)

District 31

Tyler McCaughn (R)

District 32

Rod Hickman (D)

District 33

Jeff Tate (R)

District 34

Juan Barnett (D)

District 35

Andy Berry (R)

District 36

Brian Rhodes (R)

District 37

Albert Butler (D)

District 38

Gary Brumfield (D)

District 39

Jason Barrett (R)

District 40

Angela Hill (R)

District 41

Joey Fillingane (R)

District 42

Robin Robinson (R)

District 43

Dennis DeBar (R)

District 44

John Polk (R)

District 45

Chris Johnson (R)

District 46

Philman Ladner (R)

District 47

Joseph Seymour (R)

District 48

Mike Thompson (R)

District 49

Joel Carter (R)

District 50

Scott DeLano (R)

District 51

Jeremy England (R)

District 52

Brice Wiggins (R)

Republican Party (36)

Democratic Party (16)