James Walley

James "Shannon" Walley is a former Republican member of the Mississippi Senate, representing the 43rd District from 2003 to 2007. He was originally elected as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party in 2007, thereby placing the balance of power in the chamber at 26 Republicans to 26 Democrats.
Walley narrowly lost re-election in 2007 to Tommy Dickerson, the former incumbent for the seat that Walley had defeated; Dickerson himself had switched parties from Democrat to Republican as a state senator before switching back to Democrat when re-challenging Walley.
Walley attended Jones Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi. He is married.