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In a Wednesday court filing, University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce continued to defend his firing of former university employee Lauren Stokes over a social media post she made following the death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

This is the latest legal development in Stokes’ First Amendment lawsuit that she filed against Boyce in October in response to her firing. U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson dismissed the lawsuit in March on the grounds that Stokes’ failed to make a plausible First Amendment violation claim.

Following the dismissal, Stokes filed an appeal in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that Davidson had improperly dismissed her lawsuit.

In his response, Boyce argues that Stokes’ complaint fails to allege a violation, that the chancellor is entitled to qualified immunity and the district court was correct in its dismissal of the lawsuit.

“She failed to plausibly allege that her interest in speaking on social media outweighed the University’s interest in promoting efficiency in the workplace.” Boyce’s filing states.

Boyce argues that the attention drawn to the university and the “disruption to the University’s operations” only stopped after Stokes was fired and he, as chancellor, issued an apology statement.

Read more: Former Ole Miss employee contends in appeal of dismissed lawsuit that Chancellor Glenn Boyce caved to hecklers

Boyce’s lawyers stated that the chancellor testified “he did not terminate Stoke’s employment based on his personal opinion about the viewpoint expressed in her Instagram post,” but he fired her due to the disruption and impact that it had on the university’s operation and reputation.

The filings also argue that Boyce has qualified immunity in his personal capacity. The filing largely mentions the Pickering test, a legal standard that courts use to determine whether the law was clear enough that a reasonable official would have known what they were doing was illegal.

“Even if Stokes could state a plausible First Amendment claim, the qualified immunity defense prevents pursuit of that claim against the Chancellor in his individual capacity,” Boyce’s response states.

On July 23, University of Mississippi faculty members J.T. Thomas, Wendy Goldberg and Graham Pitts, along with a freedom of speech organization, filed amicus briefings, or “friend of the court” briefings, in support of Stokes.

Next, Davidson will determine whether an oral argument is necessary. Stokes’ lawyers requested one, while Boyce’s said it was not necessary.

Stokes served as the executive assistant for Charlotte Parks, UM vice chancellor for development. Following Kirk’s death, Stokes reposted a social media comment critical of Kirk’s activism to her private Instagram account. By the next morning, Stokes was terminated from her position and the university released a statement condemning Stokes’ actions.

The state college board plans to name the next president of the Mississippi University for Women by early spring 2027.

The board of trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning announced the plans Thursday. The board also formed a committee of six trustees to oversee the national president search with support from a search firm that has not yet been selected. 

The search committee members are:

• Teresa Hubbard, chairwoman
• Amy Arrington
• Jerry Griffith
• Charlie Stephenson, IHL board vice president
• Gregg Rader 
• Steve Cunningham, IHL board president 

Cunningham said he chose the search committee members in part because of their proximity to MUW, their familiarity with the university and ties to Columbus and the surrounding region. Once selected, the search firm will help develop a timeline and candidate profile incorporating feedback gathered from MUW stakeholders during previous listening sessions, he said. 

The board aims to keep stakeholders updated throughout the process, Cunningham said. A group of MUW alumni and Columbus residents asked trustees to disclose a timeline and details about how the board will conduct the leadership search. Some people have also suggested names of leaders they want IHL trustees to consider to lead the university.

“It always works out better when you can involve the constituency groups in this whole process,” Cunningham said. “They’re a really big part of that portion of the search because they’re boots on the ground on the campus, and they know what’s needed.” 

The board is expected to issue a request for proposals for search firms within the next few weeks, Cunningham said. 

Nora Miller, who had served as MUW’s president since 2018, retired on June 30. Scott Tollison, the university’s former provost and executive vice president of academic affairs, has served as interim president since July 1. 

Read more: Will MUW’s next president be an alumna?

In April, the trustees held listening sessions for MUW stakeholders to gather feedback from the public on preferred traits for the W’s next leader. At the listening sessions, some speakers suggested Sally Burchfield Doty, who graduated from the W’ in 1988 and directs Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi. Doty, who lives in Brookhaven, also served in the state Senate from 2012 to 2020. 

In August, the Citizens Coalition for MUW and Mississippi School for Mathematics and Sciences sent the college board a letter endorsing another alumna, Doris Taylor of the class of 1977, who is a biotechnology researcher. 

Neither suggestion makes Doty or Taylor an official candidate in the search. Candidates must apply for the role to be considered.

Coalition chairman Bruce Hanson said the group will continue to engage alumni, students, faculty and the community to become involved in the leadership search process. 

 “We will continue to work on strategy to ensure the best candidate gets the job and can support our region and institutions and our community at large,” Hanson said. 

While the group endorsed Taylor as a potential candidate, a national search can open up the possibility for additional strong candidates to lead the university, said Keith Gaskin, former mayor of Columbus and coalition member. 

Gaskin said he wants trustees to move quickly with the search process because he’s grown weary of recent legislative proposals and discussions about merging MUW with Mississippi State University and moving the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, a residential school for gifted high school juniors and seniors, to Starkville. But it’s important to find the right pick for MUW’s next leader, he said. 

“My hope is that we find a strong leader who can support and serve this region,” Gaskin said. “That’s the most important thing that matters to me.” 

When it was announced in 2024 that Amplify Cell Technologies would build a $1.9-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall County, Mississippi leaders heralded it as one of the state’s largest economic development projects ever and approved up to $482 million in state incentives.

“This historic investment by these industry-leading companies will enshrine our state at the forefront of the automotive industry for years to come and create 2,000 good-paying jobs in the process,” Gov. Tate Reeves said.

But production, originally slated to start in 2027, is now delayed indefinitely. This is after the state has spent at least $107 million on the project. 

However, state economic development leaders say the company hasn’t defaulted on any terms of the agreement for incentives yet.

“The joint venture partners agreed to finish building out the facility while delaying the timing for installing the manufacturing capacity. At this time, the production start date is uncertain,” Cummins, one of the partners in Amplify, announced during its first-quarter earnings call in May. The company attributed the decision to changing demand in the market.

Almost four months later, the company could not share a timeline for when production would start. 

“The production timeline is being adjusted to reflect today’s market environment. We thus have no additional information to share at this time,” a representative for Daimler Trucks, another partner in Amplify, told Mississippi Today on Tuesday. 

A series of delays

The May announcement is just the latest project setback.

Initially, the company said production would begin in 2027, but in October 2025 the company pushed the start of production to 2028. Then in April, the company laid off 73 of a total of 100 employees at the Byhalia factory. 

This is a change from a year ago when the company was celebrating hiring 100 employees and then-CEO Kel Kearns told the Memphis Business Journal that the project was on schedule for production in late 2027.

The Mississippi Development Authority said the company remains in compliance with its contractual obligations with the state for the taxpayer-funded incentives. 

According to the memorandum of understanding between the state and the company, Amplify has until 2031 to create 2,000 jobs and make a $1.9-billion investment. If the company fails to meet its contractual obligations, it could have to repay the state up to $232 million. 

“MDA has determined that Amplify Cell remains in compliance with its contractual obligations. Should that status change, the agency will take appropriate action consistent with the agreement,” MDA said in April. The agency confirmed on Wednesday that the statement is still accurate. 

Incentives for a ‘historic investment’

In 2024, Reeves called the project the “single largest payroll commitment of any major project and the second-largest economic development project.” 

At the time, the joint venture between Cummins, Daimler Trucks and PAACAR aimed to be one of the largest commercial battery cell manufacturing companies in the U.S. 

During a 2024 special session, the Legislature approved up to $482 million in incentives for the project, including hundreds of millions in bonding and over $100 million in direct appropriations.

State funds were to go to site preparation, workforce training and infrastructure projects, such as adding an interchange on U.S. Highway 72. In addition, the company also received other local and state tax incentives, such as a 10-year exemption from the state’s corporate income tax. 

State economic development leaders say the deal remains on track. 

“State incentives associated with the project are performance‑based and time‑bound, and the company’s compliance is evaluated as the project advances. MDA has determined that Amplify Cell remains in compliance with its contractual obligations. Should that status change, the agency will take appropriate action consistent with the agreement,” MDA said in a statement.

It was one of the state’s largest economic development incentives packages according to data from the nonprofit Good Jobs First. 

It passed the Legislature in a day with only two senators and one House member voting against it. 

“My basic reason for voting ‘no’ was it’s corporate welfare,” said Sen. Kathy Chism, a Republican from New Albany. She contrasts that with what she sees as a lack of incentives and tax breaks for the state’s small businesses.  

“I have an issue with state tax dollars going to a Chinese company,” Chism said, referring to EVE Energy, a Chinese company that has 10% ownership in Amplify. In June, the Department of Defense designated EVE as a “Chinese military company.”

A changing market for electric vehicles 

Turbulence in the EV market has led to manufacturing delays and cancellations across the U.S. 

Since 2022, $18.3 billion of announced EV manufacturing investment has been canceled according to data from Atlas Public Policy, a data and policy research group. 

The volatility of the current market is due to a multitude of factors, such as demand lagging behind supply, uneven growth and the expiration of clean vehicle tax credits under the Trump administration. 

According to Atlas’ EV Hub, medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle sales declined significantly year over year, falling from 63,428 vehicles in the first half of 2025 to 43,292 vehicles in the first half of 2026, a decrease of 31.8%.

Some EV battery plants have pivoted to producing batteries to meet the rising demand for power and battery storage from data centers. In June, Amplify did not comment when asked by the Indiana Business Journal whether the factory had been considered for an alternative use. 

“Limited construction will continue to ensure that the joint venture remains well positioned for the future while maintaining flexibility,” Daimler said in its first quarter earnings call in May.

Production at the Amplify Cell Technologies battery plant in Marshall County, once slated for 2027, is delayed for an unspecified amount of time according to the companies behind the venture.

Announced in 2024, the $1.9-billion investment was expected to create 2,000 jobs. At the time, it was one of the state’s largest economic development projects. The Legislature passed an almost half-a-billion dollar economic incentive package for the company to cover things such as workforce training and site improvements. 

Amplify said that it is adjusting its production timeline and the Mississippi Development Authority said the company remains in compliance with its agreements for the state incentives. The company plans to complete construction on the facility this year but will not reach manufacturing capacity yet. The state has spent over $100 million on the project so far.

The manufacturing facility was supposed to produce batteries for commercial electric vehicles, but the Trump administration’s roll back of EV incentives has disrupted the market. Companies are still trying to adjust but experts say they expect the EV market to continue to grow. 

Trump administration helps announce new factory

On Tuesday, Gov. Tate Reeves alongside members of the Trump administration announced Hitachi Energy is investing over $500 million to build a transformer factory in Copiah County. 

Federal officials celebrated the company’s investment. They said that it is a part of the administration’s goal to make America the global leader in energy production and to bring back American manufacturing jobs. 

“This is about America’s determination to build the infrastructure to win the intelligence race, to power the next generation of American manufacturing and to bring prosperity and affordability to American citizens,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council.

More news

• General Atomics is investing $87 million in Shannon. This is the second expansion that the defense company has announced this year in Mississippi, bringing its total new investment in the state to $112 million. 
• Gov. Reeves announced over $104 million in federal money for projects to improve rural health care in the state. The money is from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to aid rural hospitals across the country and in Mississippi as they face existential financial challenges. 
• Residents of Walls are wondering if a data center might be coming to their small town. A rezoning application to convert over 1,000 acres from agricultural to light industrial use is stirring up push back from some residents. Walls is not far from Southaven, where Elon Musk’s SpacexAI has generated national controversy over its data centers and power plant. 
• On Wednesday, the state House Select Committee on Property Tax met to discuss property taxes and the cost of car tags. Some legislators have said they want to find a way to reduce the tax burden on residents. But on Wednesday, the committee focused on gathering information on the fragmented system of property taxes and car tag collections across the state. 

PEARL — Members of the Uzbekistan Ministry of Defense and National Guard are taking part in a weeklong tactical exchange through the Mississippi National Guard’s State Partnership Program.

The program is a National Guard Bureau effort that pairs individual state National Guards with foreign countries. Mississippi has partnered with Bolivia since 1999 and Uzbekistan since 2012.

Lt. Col. Amanda Villaret, Mississippi National Guard state partnership director, said the group toured the Mississippi State Fire Academy in Pearl on Wednesday to learn how the state structures and administers its fire academy as Uzbekistan develops its own.

The Mississippi State Fire Academy says it trains about 15,000 students each year and offers more than 90 courses. Fire academy instructor chief Marcus Collier said the group observed airport firefighter refresher training, trench rescue training and basic firefighter recruits conducting three-dimensional flammable liquid fire training during their visit.

The visitors also observed other state emergency-response operations, including building-collapse search and rescue training in Philadelphia and backcountry rescue training. They will also observe high-rise rescue and public safety and order training during the week. 

Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas, who was the longest currently serving chancellor of the 5th Chancery Court, died Wednesday evening in his Byram home. He was 72. 

His cause of death appeared to be from natural causes, according to a statement released Thursday by the court.

Thomas, who served 19 years on the bench, presided over several high-profile cases ranging from Election Day debacles to how much access the public should have to legislative debates.

“Judge Thomas leaves behind a legacy that extends far beyond the opinions he rendered or the cases he decided,” Chancellor Crystal Wise Martin said in a statement Thursday. “His legacy lives in the people he helped, the families he served, the attorneys and judges he influenced, and the example he set for those who were blessed to serve alongside him.”

During the 2023 statewide election, several Hinds County voting precincts ran out of ballots, causing chaos and leaving voters frustrated while they stood in line for hours attempting to cast a vote. This prompted Thomas to grant an emergency request from the state Democratic Party to extend in-person voting by an extra hour.

Thomas also was the trial court judge who decided whether the House Republican Caucus, a supermajority of House lawmakers, can meet behind closed doors to debate policy. It had long been the understanding that a majority of a public body could not discuss public business in private. But Thomas ruled the state’s Open Meetings Act didn’t apply to the Legislature.

He also presided over cases determining if a state law establishing a separate police force and court system within Jackson could go into effect and public records disputes with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office.

Prior to his judicial tenure, Thomas served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for nine years,  serving as a representative for House District 71, according to the statement released by the court’s spokesperson, Beverly Kraft. 

He also served as an assistant county attorney in Hinds County for 11 years.  

Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi in 1977 and a juris doctor in 1980 from Mississippi College School of Law, now known as Mississippi Christian University School of Law.

Lakewood Funeral Home will oversee arrangements.

Scott Colom has a question for Mississippi voters: Where’s Cindy?

According to his campaign’s new website, not at any town halls. 

Republican Sen. Cindy-Hyde Smith’s latest website, ColomForSenate.com, named to look like it belongs to her Democratic opponent Colom, calls him a “transgender defender” among many other digs.

The two campaigns are going tit-for-tat with websites.

Colom unveiled a new site on Thursday, whereiscindyhydesmith.com, to criticize the senator for not meeting with enough voters to answer questions before the November election.

“Mississippi families are sick of Cindy Hyde-Smith betraying our state,” Colom said in a statement. “We deserve a leader who will fight for us, but instead, we have an absent and corrupt senator who spends campaign funds for her personal Las Vegas vacations and votes to cut Medicaid to pay for tax breaks to billionaires.”

Colom’s new site comes after Hyde-Smith’s campaign launched a spoof website last week, a page whose address might look like it belongs to his campaign, but designed to brand him a “liberal,” “transgender defender,” and “Biden’s pick” for office.

“Mississippians deserve to know who Scott Colom really is and who is behind his run for U.S. Senate,” Hyde-Smith’s campaign manager Jake Monssen said in a statement. 

Colom has criticized Hyde-Smith for not holding regular town hall meetings with voters and for not agreeing to debate him before the November election.

Hyde-Smith has debated a general election opponent once in her Senate career, in the 2018 special election runoff against Mike Espy. She did not debate Espy in 2020 when she ran for a full term, and her campaign has not said whether she’ll debate Colom or independent candidate Ty Pinkins this year.

Colom, for his part, has already held five town halls across the state over five days in late August, part of what he’s branded his own “Where’s Cindy” tour. 

Tucked amid the pines on the Wolfe Studio site in Jackson, traffic noise from nearby Interstate 55 and Old Canton Road is somewhat muffled and, at least from a vibe perspective, distant. The hurried hum of cars and trucks is nudged aside by a sigh of relief, the serenity of the surroundings and the expectation of art.

The studio’s snug workroom plays host to intersections of another sort, as artists collaborate, create and contribute to the 80-year legacy of Wolfe Studio, and carry the vision of its founders forward.

Wolfe Studio started with artists Karl and Mildred Nungester Wolfe, who established the Wolfe Studio in 1946, and continued with their daughter, artist Bebe Wolfe. But its vibrant output has also long borne the mark of additional hands and creative input from other artists working there over the years, notably in the beloved ceramic collectibles that are a studio signature.

The exhibition “Artists of the Wolfe Studio, Eighty and Counting,” through Nov. 29 at the Arts Center of Mississippi in Jackson, presents a peek into that synergy and shows the wide range of artistic perspectives folding into the studio’s work. 

“It was really important for Karl and Mildred to support artists,” Wolfe Studio Manager Sarah Teasley said. “Before they even hired artists, they would mount exhibitions of other artists’ work in their very own gallery.

“There are all these connections and threads from people who have worked here over the years that haven’t really been lost,” Teasley said. “People might move on and go away, but they also get pulled back in.”

Joining the artworks by Karl, Mildred and Bebe Wolfe are the personal works of artists employed at Wolfe Studio — mostly current, with a few former staff artists in the mix. At times, a ceramic piece they produced at the studio is displayed alongside the artist’s personal creations. 

An opening reception for the exhibition will be held 4-6 p.m. Saturday at the Arts Center of Mississippi. It is free and open to the public.

Elise Smith, a retired Millsaps College art history professor, will present the lecture “Everyday, Ordinary Magic: Mildred Wolfe’s Artistic Responses to the Wolfe Property,” at 3 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Arts Center of Mississippi. Smith noted that the majority of the late artist’s many landscapes were paintings of her own property. The exhibition includes several.

 “Painting over and over and over again that property struck me as just such a distinctive sense of ownership,” Smith said, ”a distinctive idea about place.”

Studio artists Gabrielle Dunn and daniel johnson (the artist eschews capitalization) co-curated the exhibition presented by Wolfe Creative Legacy, the nonprofit created to preserve and maintain the creative collaboration of the studio and the Wolfe family property. The show joins a series of programs and exhibitions this year honoring the studio’s 80th anniversary and highlighting the history and reach of the Wolfe family’s creative legacy in Mississippi.

In addition to the Wolfes, Dunn, johnson and Teasley, artists represented in the show include Theo Cooper, Wendy Eddleman Cooper, Lucie Wren Cooper, Ed Lowther, Aemi Baggett, Sarah Baggett, Anna Ingebretsen Hall, Robin Jayne Henderson, Laura Stoufer, K.C. Williams, Vesper Johnson and Patti Henson.

Quilting, stained glass, printing, painting, video and works on plexiglass are all part of the show. The number of artists involved in the work of Wolfe Studio as well as the broad scope of materials and media on display provide a window into the studio’s collaborative process.

“Just that assortment of different media that these artists are working in, and that they also come together and produce this ceramic collectible — that might be a little surprising to people, to see all that exists in the background, that ultimately comes together here at Wolfe Studio and makes what they love,” said johnson, who is also the board chair of Wolfe Creative Legacy.

That creativity “spills over, all over the place,” johnson said, noting that artists there also produce events and bring other artists together into their own collectives. 

“In another sense, there are some people that come here that are not ceramists. They are artists in other media, and then they start to produce other works that are not Wolfe works, in other ceramics. It goes in both directions,” he said.

For studio manager Teasley, the bulk of current work there involves spreadsheets and bookkeeping with only a tiny bit of glazing, and her personal output as an artist — functional pottery, sculptures, mixed media and fiber arts — “is slim these days,” she conceded. Inspiration still follows her home from work. A recent show by artist Ron Lindsey, the studio’s first staff member, in the studio gallery included ceramics he had fired, then finished with diluted paint.

“I was reminded of the artistic license, so to speak, that Mildred and Karl would take with how they finished their ceramic pieces,” Teasley said. “It lit up a little part of my brain, ‘Oh, that’s another way that I could treat the ceramic work that I’m doing.’” 

Her works in the show include a small fabric collage piece, a mixed media sculpture and a book box with found objects and a handmade book. 

Wolfe Studio artist Dunn, the show’s co-curator and organizer of the studio’s annual staff show, shares her short animated film “CYCLES” in the exhibition. 

A multidisciplinary artist, Dunn particularly enjoys storytelling work, including animation, illustration, printmaking and comics. She sees a connection with special holiday items she works on at Wolfe Studio, with touches akin to illustration. A squirrel form holds a nut, “but you can create anything from that little spherical object,” Dunn said. “So right now, it’s like they’re holding an eyeball. And, one of them is holding a pumpkin. One has an acorn. … For Christmas, we have these little nuthatches that have a little wreath around the base.”

“Working here, I think a lot about story,” Teasley said. “I think about the story of this place and its history. I think about the stories our customers share with us when they come in and buy something. We often hear about why they’re buying an object, or about their collection and their connection to the studio and its history.” 

Teasley thinks about her own work the same way – a cup she made may become some person’s daily go-to. 

“They’re having a conversation with that thing on a daily basis and it gets imbued with meaning because of how they use it in their lives and how they interact with it. And, I think that’s true of the Wolfe birds and critters,” she said of the ceramic creatures for which the studio is known.

In this 80th anniversary year, Bebe Wolfe sees her own role as a key part, but not the driving part in the bigger picture. 

“In some ways, I’m sort of like the hub of a wheel, and all this stuff is revolving around me in dizzying fashion,” she said, laughing lightly. “In other ways, I feel like I’m the container of a lot of the history and previous knowledge of all the incarnations and histories of the studio.The hub is not the same thing as the axle. And, it’s really kind of always been that way. It’s always been a creative collaboration.”

The exhibition includes a couple of paintings and a sculpture by Bebe Wolfe, works that have not been previously shown.

“At this moment of the 80th anniversary, where Bebe has really matured as the matriarch of the Wolfe Studio, whereas once Mildred was,” johnson said, “the real thrust of what this show is doing is bringing to the fore all these artists that work underneath Bebe, that she has mentored, and looking toward the next 80 years. 

“The studio has already gone through one generational change, and what does the next one look like?”

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson faces two general election opponents in what could be the 17-term incumbent’s final race in a majority-Black district.

Thompson has represented the 2nd Congressional District covering Jackson and the Delta since 1993. A civil rights leader and former chair of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6th Capitol attack, Thompson is a towering figure in state and national politics. That status has made him the prime target of Republican state leaders, who are poised to redraw his seat through redistricting after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais decision in May.

Thompson, the lone Black and lone Democratic member of Mississippi’s congressional delegation, has dominated his reelection contests ever since first entering Congress. While the 2nd District has gone through redistricting three times — after the 2000, 2010, and 2020 censuses — it has remained a majority-Black district covering the Mississippi Delta and most of Jackson.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has removed protections for minority districts and cleared the way for Republican-controlled state legislatures to redraw political lines in their favor, Republican leaders have left little doubt they intend to target Thompson through redistricting.

But before they can attempt that, Thompson faces Republican challenger Ron Eller and Independent Bennie Foster in this year’s midterm election.

Eller, a physician’s assistant and military veteran, has already run for Thompson’s seat twice. He lost the Republican primary in 2022, but secured the nomination in 2024. That year, he lost to Thompson by nearly 24 points. For 2026, he again emerged victorious from the Republican primary after narrowly defeating Adams County Supervisor Kevin Wilson.

Eller said he is campaigning on a platform of “economic growth, lower taxes, secure borders, support for law enforcement and expanding opportunity for working families throughout the district.”

On the campaign trail, Eller has called for congressional term limits and said he supports Republican President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“For far too long, Congressman Bennie Thompson has left the people of Mississippi’s 2nd District behind,” Eller said. “It is time for a new generation of leadership aligned with President Trump that will fight for economic growth, secure borders, voter integrity and the constitutional rights of every Mississippian.”

An independent, Foster, is also running for the seat. Foster has proposed reallocating federal spending “away from overseas conflicts to fix urgent local priorities starting with Jackson water system, rural health access, and Delta infrastructure.” He also supports training programs to equip workers for the rise of artificial intelligence and wants to “challenge corporate healthcare monopolies to lower costs.”

Thompson has pointed to his record of securing millions of dollars in grants and federal appropriations for his district, including his role as a vocal proponent of a $600 million aid package for Jackson’s water system. If Democrats retake control of the House, he would again become chair of the committee overseeing the Department of Homeland Security, he has also noted.

Federal campaign finance records show Thompson has a large financial edge in the race.

As of the latest reporting period, Thompson had over $1.4 million in cash on hand compared to Eller’s roughly $36,000. Foster began his campaign with less than $10,000 in cash on hand and hasn’t reported raising any more money.

While Thompson is the heavy favorite to once again coast to reelection this November, a subsequent redistricting fight could reshape his political future.

Following the Callais decision, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Thompson’s tenure “reigning terror on the 2nd Congressional District” was over. In public appearances, Thompson has leaned into the fight, daring Republicans to challenge him.

At a May fundraiser in Jackson featuring DNC Chair Ken Martin, Thompson said Republican state leaders didn’t want to own up to their own failures.

“At some point, you make folks mad,” Thompson said. “This state didn’t get on the bottom by itself. We had leaders who just did not give a tinker’s damn about the majority of the people in this state. So we have to do better. I’m in it to win it. I don’t care what it is.”

Mississippi’s congressional primaries had already concluded by the time the Callais decision came down, and Republicans declined to take the extraordinary step of invalidating those elections in order to redraw electoral maps before the 2026 midterms.

But the Republican-dominated state Legislature has created special committees on redistricting and is holding hearings across the state as it prepares to redraw maps. The new maps would likely be approved in a special session expected this November following the midterms or in regular session starting in January.

It is unclear what the new 2nd District would look like, but many Republicans believe they can draw the lines in a way that would help oust Thompson. In order to do that, they’d likely need to split up parts of the Delta and Jackson, which are majority-Black Democratic strongholds.

In this year’s Democratic primary, Thompson staved off a primary challenge from Evan Turnage, a former aide to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Senate Conference Vice Chair Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The race drew attention due to Turnage’s connections to powerful congressional Democrats.

Thompson won by a wide margin, and in a statement following that victory, the longtime incumbent sounded reflective.

“I didn’t begin this journey at the top or with a roadmap,” Thompson said. “As Langston Hughes wrote, life has not been a crystal stair. Every challenge only strengthened my resolve to expand access and opportunity.”

John Caldwell, the Northern District transportation commissioner, has announced that he is not running for reelection, leaving one of north Mississippi’s top political positions open next year. 

Caldwell didn’t say specifically why he’s not running again, but said it has nothing to do with his recent clashes with his commission and Mississippi Department of Transportation colleagues.

The mercurial Caldwell has clashed with MDOT Director Brad White and other commissioners recently. Caldwell has been known for generating news in the otherwise staid commission meetings by voting to hold up local road and bridge project money, demand minute details from MDOT employees in the middle of a meeting and arguing with White. 

At the commission’s meeting on Sept. 8, Caldwell repeatedly screamed “bullshit” and “shut up” at White, Central District Commissioner Willie Simmons and Southern District Commissioner Charles Busby.  

Caldwell, a Republican in his second term, first disclosed his decision not to seek reelection through his podcast “One for the Road.” He said it was time to “pass the torch” to a new person to represent north Mississippi on the three-member commission that oversees the Mississippi Department of Transportation.  

“When it’s time, you’ll know,” Caldwell said. “Well, I know it’s time. I have a little over a year left on the second of two consecutive terms as your transportation commissioner. It’s been a great tour of duty, but it’s coming to a close.” 

He told Mississippi Today that he had decided several months ago not to seek a third term because he felt like he was “getting to a point of diminishing returns” with his position.

The disagreement in the recent meeting involved efforts to install a traffic signal along a highway in DeSoto County. Caldwell said the signal was needed after a young woman died in a traffic incident along the road. 

He blamed the agency’s bureaucracy and agency leaders choosing to fund other road projects as the reasons for not installing the signal sooner. 

White said the agency decided to install a signal in the area, but local governments wanted a more decorative traffic pole beyond what MDOT typically offers. In instances like this, White said, the local government bears the extra cost. 

“The old saying is the truth is kind of like a lion,” White said. “You don’t have to defend it. You just turn it out, and it’ll defend itself.”  

Busby, a Republican, and Simmons, a Democrat, agreed with White and said Caldwell’s portrayal of that project was misleading. 

This prompted Caldwell to accuse Simmons, who presides over the meetings as chairman, of violating the state’s open meetings law by calling other commissioners to discuss public business, something Simmons disputed. 

But Caldwell told Mississippi Today the recent arguments with the commissioners and White were not a factor in his decision not to seek a third term. He even characterized Busby and Simmons as great commissioners and called White a “fine director” with a “great team” in place.

“This is one of the best jobs in state government,” Caldwell said. 

Caldwell is a Marine combat veteran of Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. Before serving as a transportation commissioner, he was a DeSoto County supervisor. 

The state’s Transportation Commission is composed of three elected commissioners, with each representing a different area of the state – southern, central and northern. The commission oversees the resources and operations of the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

The Transportation Commission’s Northern District stretches from the western to eastern borders of the state, DeSoto to Tishomingo counties, and from Alcorn County in the north to Winston County in the south, 33 counties in all.

Caldwell’s announcement will likely set off a scramble to fill his open seat. When former Commissioner Mike Tagert decided he was not running for reelection in the 2019 cycle, five Republicans competed to succeed him. 

Already, state Sen. Chuck Younger, a Republican from Columbus, has announced he will run for the northern seat next year.

The regional offices of transportation commissioner are highly sought after because they can serve as a springboard to higher office, though Caldwell said he doesn’t intend to campaign for another elected office next cycle.