Travis Childers

The district has supported the official Democratic candidate for president only once since 1956; George W. Bush carried the district with 62 percent of the vote in 2004.

Travis Wayne Childers (born March 29, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for MS's 1st congressional district from 2008 to 2011.

The district included much of the northern portion of the state including New Albany, Columbus, Oxford, Southaven, and Tupelo.

Childers was born in Booneville in Prentiss County, Mississippi, on March 29, 1958.

He is the son of John Wayne and Betty (Stokes) Childers.

His father, a native of Glen, died when Travis was 16 years old.

In high school, Travis worked nights and weekends at a convenience store in Booneville to help his mother, Betty, and sister, Tammy.

Childers attended Northeast Mississippi Junior College and then the University of Mississippi, where he received his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1980.

While still a student at Ole Miss, Childers became licensed as a Real Estate Salesperson by the Mississippi Real Estate Commission (MREC) and became a realtor.

After graduating from college, he joined Robert Davis' real estate business in Booneville and worked there throughout the 1980s.

Eventually he became licensed as a Real Estate Broker by MREC prior to his ownership of Travis Childers Realty & Associates, now Childers Realty and Associates, a Northeast Mississippi real estate firm.

Childers owns a personal care home, the Landmark Community, and the Landmark Nursing Center, an 80-bed skilled care facility and Alzheimer's unit.

In 1991, Childers was elected Prentiss County Chancery Clerk.

He was elected five times (with 75 percent of the vote the final time).

A member of the Democratic Party, Childers previously served as Chancery Clerk of Prentiss County from 1992 until his election to Congress.

Whitten retired in 1995 and was succeeded by Wicker.

Childers' victory came as a major shock to the Republicans.

The district has a decided conservative bent; Wicker had won his first race for the seat with 63 percent of the vote and had faced no serious opposition since then.

Childers was chosen to serve as President of the Mississippi Chancery Clerks Association for the 2001–2002 term.

Childers faced Greg Davis again in the general election on November 4, 2008.

Childers defeated Davis 54% to 44%.

Childers opposed the 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act.

While Childers did vote against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, he is against full repeal of the law.

Childers stated that while he supports health care reform, he believes the bill needed changes.

The seat was held by Democrat Jamie Whitten of Charleston for 54 years, the longest tenure of any congressman until Michigan representative John Dingell passed the mark on February 11, 2009.

Childers ran for re-election on November 2, 2010.

In the 111th Congress, Childers voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and reauthorization of SCHIP.

A special election in Mississippi's 1st congressional district was triggered when 12-year Republican incumbent Roger Wicker was appointed by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to the United States Senate seat vacated by Trent Lott.

Childers was endorsed by many prominent newspapers in the region: the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, the Commercial Dispatch, and the Commercial Appeal.

Several candidates qualified for the election.

In the initial April 22 special election, Childers won 49.4 percent of the vote, falling just 400 votes short of the majority (50 percent plus one) needed to avoid a runoff.

On May 13, Childers faced Republican candidate Greg Davis (who had won 46.3 percent on April 22).

Childers won the runoff.

This election returned the district to the Democrats.

On March 1, 2014, Childers announced that he was running for the United States Senate.

He won his party's nomination for the Senate seat in the Democratic primary on June 3.

He lost the general election to Republican incumbent Thad Cochran.

However, in his 2014 bid for Senate, he stated that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the law, and he supports it.

In September, 2016, Travis Childers was awarded the Prentiss County Development Association 's "Doug Mansell Award", an annual award given to a person in Prentiss County who has contributed to the progress, betterment and development of Prentiss County and northeast Mississippi.

In October, 2016, Childers was inducted into the Northeast Mississippi Community College Hall of Fame.