Corey Kingery was elected ASB President Pro Tempore via runoff ballot at the Associated Student Body Formal Senate on Monday, April 28, at the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union.
In addition to presiding over the ASB Senate in the absence of the vice president, the president pro tempore serves as chair of the rules committee and is an ex officio member on all other senate committees. The president pro tempore ensures each committee conducts regular meetings by collecting reports.
Kingery previously ran for ASB Vice President in the 2026 spring election but lost in the general election. Trey McKean won the vice presidential race.
“My goal here is really simple,” Kingery said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “It’s to make sure every single one of my senators is able to do what they came here to do, not just to start their ideas but to finish them, not just to speak but to be heard and not to serve but to make a real impact.”
Kingery said she is focused on being a resource for senators, but she also wants to make sure that senators are a stable resource for their constituents.
“In the past, ASB hasn’t always done a great job of reaching out first; they kind of wait for organizations to come to them with problems,” Kingery said. “I want to make sure that, since senators are elected to represent their bodies, … making sure they reach out to every single RSO they represent and seeing what ASB can do for them and what they need. I think that’s something that I’m very passionate about this year and hoping to see implemented.”
The ASB Senate elects a round of nominees for president pro tempore before voting.
Alongside Kingery, Sens. Nicholas Menendez, Tres Jones, Paul Winfield, Edward Wilson and Eli Keel were nominated for the position alongside Kingery on the first ballot.
Before the first ballot, Sen. Tyler Boecker challenged the qualifications of Wilson and Kingery under Title IIA, Section 106 of the ASB Constitution and Code, which requires each senator to serve a full term before being nominated for president pro tempore.
ASB Attorney General Lucy Allen justified Wilson and Kingery’s eligibility.
“The end of a term has traditionally been joint senate,” Allen said. “These senators have served from the filling of their seats through the end of the senate term at joint senate.”
Sen. Menendez made a unique campaign promise to senators.
“You know, I get a little salary when I’m up here,” Menendez said. “I will be putting it to good use: After senate on Tuesdays, that salary is going out to the Square, and you guys can join me.”
After the first round of voting, Jones and Kingery were sent into a runoff election after receiving the two highest percentages of the vote. Jones received 27.5% of the vote, and Kingery received 37.5%.
During the debate, Sen. Cait Mayo weighed in on the election, expressing concern for Kingery’s ability to handle conflict in the senate.
“(Corey Kingery) is a really sweet, kind person and a really hard worker,” Mayo said. “I have concerns about the way she handles conflict, though. She is not very good in high-pressure situations, and she does not do well with tension, conflict, hard conversations and hard choices, and I think that’s what some of this job is, especially in presiding over rules.”
Kingery won the vote for president pro tempore in the runoff with 52.3% of the vote.
After the election, Mayo emphasized her respect for the position.
“Corey Kingery is (president pro tempore) now, and it is our job to respect her,” Mayo said. “I also said that she would not make a bad president pro (tempore), and I can’t say that she doesn’t have a passion for it and doesn’t work hard.”
Kingery looks forward to supporting the new senators when ASB senate sessions resume in the fall.
“I’m really excited to work with all of them. We have a really good group this year,” Kingery said. “It’s a lot of new senators, a lot of freshmen. I think that’s a really good thing, because we can kind of shape ASB today.”
Editor’s note: A previous version included incorrect information that Kingery lost in the vice presidential runoff, not in the general election. The mistake has been corrected, and we regret the error.
