Before Trent Kelly became a major general, a district attorney or a member of Congress, he managed a McRae’s department store and wore a National Guard uniform on weekends.
Kelly, 60, grew up in Union, Mississippi, the son of John and Barbara Kelly. He spent 39 years in the Mississippi Army National Guard, worked as a prosecutor and won a 2015 special election to replace the late U.S. House Rep. Alan Nunnelee. Now the Saltillo Republican wants another term and a bigger role in defense policy.
On Oct. 26, Kelly appeared with President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at a rally in Corinth, Mississippi, where Kelly defended Trump’s pursuit of the Iran War.
“President Trump did not start a war with Iran. They have been at war with us since 1979 when they overthrew the shah,” Kelly said. “ And every one of these presidents have tried to negotiate with them, but they want to get a nuclear weapon, and I know gas prices hurt right now, and I know the president’s trying to help all he can. But you know what? They’re still lower right now at the highest corner of Trump than they were under (former President Joe) Biden, who has the record high gas prices. And he did it because he wanted to do it because he wanted you to be green. I don’t want to be green. I want to be red, white, and blue. ”
Voters in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District will decide on Nov. 3 whether to return him to Congress. Kelly faces Democrat Cliff Johnson, a civil rights attorney from Lafayette County, and Libertarian Johnny Baucom of Columbus. Kelly’s campaign has raised about $1.3 million this cycle, and more than half of it came from committees.
The Mississippi Free Press reached out to the Kelly campaign for an interview. His campaign initially responded, but did not offer a specific availability and then stopped responding.
A Law Degree and a Uniform
Trent Kelly was born March 1, 1966, in Union, Mississippi. He graduated from Union High School and East Central Community College, then earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree at the University of Mississippi. He later earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 2010.
He managed a McRae’s store, practiced law in Saltillo and served as Tupelo’s city prosecutor. He also worked as a forfeiture attorney for the North Mississippi Narcotics Unit. Voters then elected him district attorney of the 1st Circuit Judicial District, where he handled every felony case in seven counties: Lee, Pontotoc, Alcorn, Monroe, Itawamba, Prentiss and Tishomingo.
He lives in Saltillo with his wife, Sheila, whom he married 35 years ago. They have three children: John Forrest, Morgan and Jackson. The family attends Saltillo First United Methodist Church.
Desert Storm, Two Iraq Tours and Major General
Trent Kelly served as a combat engineer while serving in the National Guard. The Guard mobilized him for Operation Desert Storm in 1990 as a second lieutenant. In 2005 he deployed to Iraq as a major with the 155th Brigade, and in 2009 he went back as a lieutenant colonel, commanding Task Force Knight and more than 670 troops from Mississippi, Ohio and Kentucky.
His decorations include the Soldier’s Medal, two Bronze Stars and the Combat Action Badge. He rose to major general and retired from the Guard in April 2025, according to his House biography.
Kelly’s path into Congress ran through the courtroom. After years as a prosecutor and district attorney, he ran in the 2015 special election to succeed Alan Nunnelee and won the special election runoff.
Kelly now sits on the House Armed Services Committee, where he chairs the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. He also serves as vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and as a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee.
Who Funds Kelly
Kelly for Congress, Trent Kelly’s campaign committee, reported $1,314,373.36 in total receipts from Jan. 1, 2025, through Oct. 14, 2026. Individuals gave $503,554.65. Other committees, mostly political action committees, gave $674,367. That represents about half of the total Kelly has raised.
Kelly reported $834,172.64 cash on hand as of Oct. 14, the last day of expenditures before Kelly’s campaign files its required pre-general report.
OpenSecrets, which tracks PAC giving by industry and donor, lists the committees behind that money. A member of the Armed Services Committee naturally draws defense-sector giving, and the donor lists show who gave and how much.
Defense PACs—including defense aerospace contractors, shipbuilders, electronics and other related services—comprise 27.3% of Kelly’s PAC contributions. The second-largest PAC sector to Kelly’s campaign is agribusiness, which has contributed $141,000.
Kelly’s Economic and Farm Agenda
Rep. Trent Kelly argues that federal regulation raises business costs and hurts job creation. He has pitched agriculture as the economic engine of his district.
“A country must be able to defend itself and feed itself in order to be secure,” Kelly told a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies in 2017.
In 2024, Kelly introduced the bipartisan Farmer Assistance and Revenue Mitigation Act, known as the FARM Act. It would help farmers whose revenue falls below their cost of production.
“Farmers have been hit with circumstances outside of their control,” Kelly said. “The FARM Act will bridge the gap, providing relief so that our farmers can continue to do their best—feed the nation.”
Immigration and the Trump Agenda
The congressman supports stronger border enforcement, and he backs temporary agricultural visas.
“There’s a difference between getting a work visa and a path to citizenship,” Trent Kelly told Supertalk Mississippi on Aug. 17. “Many of these people don’t even want a path to citizenship.”
He also voted for President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax and spending law. “I proudly voted for the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a win for the American people that delivers on President Trump’s promises to secure the border, cut taxes and strengthen our national defense,” Kelly wrote in July 2025.
What Kelly Has Passed
Two bills that Kelly sponsored have become law, both named post offices. In 2016, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law his bill naming the Oxford post office at 401 McElroy Dr. for Army 1st Lt. Donald C. Carwile. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed Kelly’s H.R. 208 on Aug. 6, naming the Tupelo post office at 500 West Main Street the Colonel Carlyle “Smitty” Harris Post Office. He has individually introduced 66 pieces of legislation during his time in Congress.
“I have a long history of working on national defense strategy, and I believe I can make a meaningful difference for our men and women in uniform and for the defense of our great nation,” Kelly told Mississippi Today on Sept. 25, 2026. If voters return him to Congress, he said he will seek the House Armed Service Committee’s top Republican post.
Kelly also sits on the House Agriculture Committee, and he introduced the previously mentioned FARM Act to help farmers whose revenue falls below their cost of production. He has argued since at least 2017 that a secure country must be able to “defend itself and feed itself.”
Kelly’s Case to Voters
Kelly’s pitch rests on experience. He is the third-most senior member of Mississippi’s congressional delegation, behind Rep. Bennie Thompson and Sen. Roger Wicker. He has held the seat since a June 2, 2015, special election runoff, and he ran unopposed in the March 10 Republican primary. He brings 39 years in the Guard, a prosecutor’s record and seniority on three House committees to the race.
He also faces a district that has changed. Fast-growing DeSoto County and Oxford now sit alongside the rural counties around Tupelo, Columbus, Eupora and Iuka, where Kelly keeps district offices.
Kelly has asked for another term and a bigger job on the Armed Service Committee. Voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to give him both.
MFP State Reporter Heather Harrison contributed.
Mississippians will vote for candidates running for federal, regional and local offices in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Mississippians must have registered to vote by Oct. 5 to cast their ballot in the upcoming election. Check your voter registration by visiting sos.ms.gov or by calling your county circuit clerk’s office.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of the 2026 elections and read past stories here.
Mississippi Free Press stories are always free because we believe everyone should have access to quality journalism. Donations from readers like you make that possible. Please click here to give to help sustain and grow vital, people-over-power journalism for Mississippians.
