The top vote-getter was also the top fundraiser in several area races decided in last November’s general elections, according to reports filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office by this week’s deadline.

The candidates who pulled in the most money were the winners in contests for three Warren County seats in the state Legislature and in two statewide elections that involved contestants with local ties, the filings show.

The reports cover financial activity from Oct. 28 through Dec. 31 and are the last showings of contributions and expenditures required of contestants in the state’s 2007 election.

In the race for secretary of state, Republican Delbert Hosemann, a Jackson attorney who grew up in Vicksburg, raised more than his Democratic opponent, Rob Smith of Richland, by $1,087,432.65 to $100,053.09 and outspent him $1,357,370.38 to $99,764.09. Hosemann won the race.

Republican Mike Chaney of Vicksburg, a state senator representing a Warren County district since 2000, won election as state insurance commissioner after raising $1,067,295.14 and spending $1,034,844.72.

The State Department’s Web site did not show a filing for Chaney’s opponent, Democrat Gary Anderson, but Anderson’s final pre-election report showed contributions of $645,763.71 and expenditures of $596,416.48.

The top fundraiser in area races for the Legislature was Vicksburg attorney W. Briggs Hopson III, a Republican who raised $130,863.22 and spent $96,074 in his successful effort to win the District 23 state Senate seat vacated by Chaney.

The State Department’s Web site showed no record of a post-election spending report from Hopson’s opponent, Democrat Eric Rawlings, a Vicksburg businessman whose last pre-election filing showed contributions of $4,200 and expenditures of $3,291.

In the race for the District 54 seat in the state House of Representatives, victorious businessman Alex Monsour, a Republican, reported raising a total of $70,328 and spending $56,901.86.

Democrat Thomas Setser, whose last pre-election filing showed donations of $8,715.94 and spending of $8,176.84, did not have a report on the State Department’s Web site. Neither did Jennifer Thomas, an independent, whose final pre-election report showed contributions of $12,845 and spending of $4,593.

The District 54 seat came open after incumbent Chester Masterson, a Republican, opted to give up the job for a run at the District 23 Senate seat. Hopson defeated him in the GOP primary.

Incumbent George Flaggs, a Democrat who defeated Republican Rick McAllister in the District 55 House race, raised more than the Vicksburg pastor by a margin of more than four-to-one.

Flaggs reported total contributions of $66,984, while McAllister showed $13,441.38. McAllister spent the total amount raised, while Flaggs spent $57,594.

In the district attorney race, which saw challenger Ricky Smith, a Democrat, defeat Independent incumbent Gil Martin, Smith raised $35,059.60 and spent $34,958.18.

Martin’s report has been received by the State Department but was unavailable Friday afternoon because of computer problems, a department spokesman said.