CLIFF JOHNSON POSTS RECORD SETTING FUNDRAISING QUARTER IN MISSISSIPPI'S FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
For Immediate Release:
www.cliffjohnsonforcongress.com
Cliff Johnson Posts Record Setting Fundraising Quarter in Mississippi’s First Congressional District
Johnson raises more in first quarter of the race than all of Trent Kelly’s previous Democratic opponents combined
TAYLOR, MS – January 5, 2025 – Democrat Cliff Johnson raised more than $260,000 in the first fundraising quarter of his campaign for Congress in Mississippi’s First District. The campaign received donations from over 1,000 individual supporters, including contributions from 17 out of 21 counties in the First Congressional District. Nearly 70% of Johnson’s contributions came from Mississippians, without a dime taken from PACs.
This fundraising total for the quarter ending December 31, 2025 is the most a Democrat has raised in the First Congressional District in over a decade and more than incumbent Trent Kelly has ever raised in a single quarter since winning a runoff election more than a decade ago. No other candidate for office in the First Congressional District has ever raised more from individual donors in a single quarter.
“I am truly grateful for the outpouring of support from people all across this district. From Southaven to Columbus, our grassroots campaign is resonating with the people of Mississippi’s
First Congressional District,” said Johnson. “As I travel around North Mississippi, I have heard from voters of all parties that what they are looking for right now is someone who isn’t afraid to speak truth to power. That is exactly what I have spent my career doing, and I won’t stop until every hard-working Mississippian has the fair shot at security and stability that they deserve.”
Since launching his campaign, Cliff has earned the support of First Congressional District Leaders like State Senator Theresa Gillespie-Isom, Former Democratic Congressional Nominee Dianne Black, and former Democratic Congressional candidate Montravius Hall.
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Cliff Johnson lives in the Springdale Community of rural Lafayette County with his wife of 35 years, Leigh. They have a son and daughter-in-law in Memphis, and a daughter and son-in-law in Atlanta. His parents, Jim and Alice Johnson, reside in Oxford.
Cliff graduated from Mississippi College and attended law school at Columbia University in New York, where he served on the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and was named a Charles Evans Hughes Fellow for his demonstrated interest in public service.
Cliff has practiced law in Mississippi for 33 years. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney, co-founded a law firm in Jackson, and, for 11 years has been the director of the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law where he advocates for reform of Mississippi’s criminal legal system and teaches civil rights law and litigation. He has been named a National Trial Lawyer of the Year by Public Justice and the Mississippi Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Mississippi Association for Justice.
