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OXFORD — Mississippi lawmakers weaken the power of Black voters by drawing state Supreme Court districts that make it difficult for them to elect a justice, an attorney representing several citizens and public officials from the Delta told a federal judge Monday.  

But during opening arguments of a redistricting trial, an attorney representing state officials told U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock in Oxford that Black citizens have repeatedly selected their preferred candidates to the state’s highest court. 

Mississippi law establishes three distinct Supreme Court districts, commonly referred to as the Northern, Central and Southern districts. Voters elect three judges from each of these districts to make up the nine-member court. These districts have not been redrawn since 1987. 

The main district at issue in the case is the Central District, which comprises many parts of the majority-Black Delta and the majority-Black Jackson metro area. Currently, two white justices, Kenny Griffis and James Kitchens, and one Black justice, Leslie King, represent the district. 

The lawsuit was filed in April 2022 by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Mississippi, the Southern Poverty Law Center and private law firms on behalf of a group of Black Mississippians including state Sen. Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, and Ty Pinkins, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate.

Ari Savitzky is an attorney for the plaintiffs. He told Aycock that expert testimony throughout the trial will show that Black candidates face steep odds getting elected to the court. He believes a new Black-majority district could be drawn to remedy that hurdle.

“This is an important case, your honor,” Savitzky said. “It matters tremendously for Black voters, and the state of Mississippi. It matters to the future of this state where the next generation of lawyers and leaders will be able to see themselves in the highest offices and whether they’ll have a path to get there.” 

All four Black Mississippians who have served on the Supreme Court were first appointed to the post by governors and then later won election to the post as incumbents. All four have represented the Central District.

In 2020, Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks attempted to become the first Black Mississippi to be elected to the Supreme Court before first being appointed by a governor. She lost a close election to Griffis, who was running for the post for the first time after being appointed to a vacant slot on the court by then-Gov. Phil Bryant.

The three Supreme Court districts also are used to elect the three-member Public Service and Transportation commissions.

Special Assistant Attorney General Rex Shannon III is an attorney representing the state officials. He argued that the plaintiffs’ case is weakened since voters in the Central District elected Willie Simmons to the Transportation Commission and DeKeither Stamps to the Public Service Commission. Both officials are Black.

“Plaintiffs first have to prove that the Central District lines abridge their right to vote,” Shannon said. “None of the plaintiffs allege they’re being denied a right to vote.” 

Demographers, political candidates and political scientists are expected to testify at the non-jury trial, which is expected to last around 10 days. It’s unclear when Judge Aycock would issue a final ruling. After her ruling, an aggrieved party could appeal to the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Health insurance costs will increase an average of $480 annually or 160% for Mississippians on the Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance exchange in 2026 unless Congress takes action to extend federal subsidies.

The enhanced subsidies that were enacted during COVID-19 and extended through the federal Inflation Reduction Act are scheduled to end starting in 2026 unless they are renewed by Congress. The enhanced subsidies have led to large increases in marketplace participation in Southern states such as Mississippi.

According to a report by KFF, a national non-profit that focuses on health care issues, there are 280,000, mostly low-income Mississippians receiving health insurance through the marketplace exchange. The vast majority of those fit into income categories that receive federal subsidies to help pay for the cost of health insurance. And most of those on the exchange in Mississippians fall below 150% of the federal poverty level (income of $22,590 a year or lower for an individual) and can receive insurance with little or no monthly premiums. The low-income policyholders, though, still pay deductibles and out of pocket expenses.

If the enhanced subsidies expire, smaller subsidies would still be available through the Affordable Care Act for low income people who have health insurance policies through the marketplace. But many middle income people garnering insurance through the ACA exchange would no longer qualify for any subsidies to help pay their costs.

The November outcome of the 2024 presidential election and congressional races across the country could determine whether the subsidies are renewed.

KFF speculates that if Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, wins election this November she would attempt to extend the enhanced subsidies that were enacted as part of legislation championed by outgoing President Joe Biden.

It is not clear what action Trump would take on the enhanced subsidies if elected, but during his first term he is credited for action that harmed marketplace participation. The Center for American Progress said the Trump administration reduced outreach effort designed to let people know about the marketplace and reduced the time period to sign up for marketplace policies. Plus, he attempted to repeal the ACA. During his current campaign, Trump at times has spoken about wanting to improve the ACA and at other times talked about repealing it. He has offered no specifics, according to a KFF analysis.

“If the enhanced subsidies expire, almost all ACA Marketplace enrollees will experience steep increases in premium payments in 2026. However, the subsidies come at a steep cost to taxpayers,” the KFF study said.

The enhanced subsidies have reduced premiums nationwide by an average of 44%. But to renew and expand them for 10 years would cost $335 billion, the Congressional Budget Office estimates.

The  KFF study — Inflation Reduction Act Health Insurance Subsidies: What is Their Impact and What Would Happen if They Expire – estimates that nationwide 21.4 million people receive health insurance through the exchange and 19.7 million of those people receive the enhanced subsidies. Because of legislation passed during Biden’s tenure, people earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level pay little or no monthly premiums. If the enhanced subsidies go away, KFF estimates premium costs will be $780 annually for low-income Mississippians.

The KFF study said the subsidies are having the most impact in Southern states.

The study said, “At least 10% of the population is enrolled in ACA Marketplace plans throughout all congressional districts in Florida and South Carolina, along with most in Texas, Georgia, and Utah. In Florida, there are nine congressional districts where at least 20% of the population is enrolled in a marketplace plan.”

The marketplace exchange is most impactful in states that have not expanded Medicaid to provide health care for the working poor. Only 10 states have not expanded Medicaid, including Texas, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia in the South.

According to an NBC report, the five states that had the largest increases in marketplace participation between 2020 and 2024, which covers the time of the enhanced subsidies, are all Southern states that have not expanded Medicaid.

They are:

• Texas, 195% increase
• Mississippi, 172%
• Georgia, 165%
• Tennessee, 160%
• South Carolina, 154%

With the exception of Georgia, all are states that Trump won in 2020 during his unsuccessful reelection effort.

Low-income people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level (about $20,700 for an individual) can obtain coverage through Medicaid in states that have expanded Medicaid instead of having to rely on the marketplace plans.

People earning less than 100% of the federal poverty level cannot obtain coverage through the marketplace and have no other option for health insurance in states, such as Mississippi, that have not expanded Medicaid.

Both Medicaid expansion and the marketplace are components of the Affordable Care Act.

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Aug. 3, 1979

Patricia Roberts Harris began serving as secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Jimmy Carter after serving for two years as secretary of Housing and Urban Development. It was one of many firsts for Harris. 

She became involved in the civil rights movement while attending Howard University, taking part in a sit-in. She was the first Black woman to serve in the presidential cabinet and the first Black woman to enter the presidential line of succession. 

When someone questioned her ability to represent the underclass, she shot back, “You do not seem to understand who I am. I am a Black woman, the daughter of a Pullman (railroad) car waiter. I am a Black woman who even eight years ago could not buy a house in parts of the District of Columbia. I didn’t start out as a member of a prestigious law firm, but as a woman who needed a scholarship to go to school. If you think I have forgotten that, you are wrong.”

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The University of Mississippi is in the midst of restructuring its Division of Diversity and Community Engagement as other universities across the state have already made changes to their diversity, equity and inclusion offices, potentially in an effort to ward off a legislative ban.

Earlier this year, the head of Mississippi State University’s diversity division gave a presentation to faculty on the restructuring that was announced last fall. As of July 1, the University of Southern Mississippi’s renamed “Office of Community and Belonging” will serve a broader audience, a spokesperson confirmed.

Delta State University did not to refill its DEI coordinator after the position was vacated last year, according to a statement. The job was eliminated during the recent budget cuts.

At all three institutions, the universities told Mississippi Today the changes did not come with a reduction to any programs, scholarships or initiatives that aim to support the enrollment, retention and employment of students and faculty from historically marginalized groups such as racial minorities, veterans, first-generation and low-income students. In higher education, DEI traditionally refers to a range of administrative efforts to comply with civil rights laws and foster a sense of on-campus belonging among those populations.

At Ole Miss, it’s unclear if the university’s restructuring of the division will result in a reduction to any of the efforts the university announced in its ambitious “Pathways to Equity” plan three years ago.

“University leaders are working to determine the best way to align our resources to focus on what matters for educational attainment and student success,” a spokesperson, Jacob Batte, wrote in an email to Mississippi Today. “We anticipate some changes will be forthcoming, but the internal review is not completed.”

Across the country, conservative legislation has caused universities to shutter such offices, reassign or fire employees, and end scholarships and programs aimed at supporting marginalized students. Fourteen states have passed laws banning or restricting DEI practices of some kind, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Just last week, the University of Alabama System announced its campuses would close offices and reassign staff in response to a law banning DEI offices, programming and training in state agencies, AL.com reported.

The changes at Mississippi’s universities have come without a legislative mandate. Mississippi lawmakers have nominally banned the teaching of critical race theory, but the Republican-controlled Legislature has not put the kibosh on funding for DEI initiatives. Earlier this year, Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, introduced a bill that would have done so, but it died in a House committee. 

Universities in Arkansas and South Carolina also preemptively reorganized their DEI offices, according to Inside Higher Ed. In both states, lawmakers have not passed a ban. The University of Missouri at Columbia announced a similar move earlier this week.

In Mississippi, the state’s loudest advocate for a DEI ban, State Auditor Shad White, focused much of his speech at the Neshoba County Fair this week on DEI. He has used his office to audit DEI programs at the eight public universities, including his alma mater, Ole Miss. In interviews and on social media, White has repeatedly warned about the “dangers of DEI,” saying it teaches college students “that we have to discriminate against some people because of the color of their skin.” 

Last year, White’s office determined the eight universities have spent at least $23 million in state and institutional funds since 2019 on a range of DEI programs, including affinity groups for minority students, programming like International Student Month, and staff members to support students who are veterans.

The bulk of DEI spending occurred at Mississippi’s five predominantly white institutions, with the three historically Black institutions having little programs or initiatives to report. Alcorn State University reported scholarships for non-Black students as DEI spending.

Changes across the system

Mississippi Today asked every university in Mississippi about possible changes to their DEI programs, including if there has been a reduction in any related programs or jobs.

At some schools, it’s unclear what changes, if any, have occurred. Mississippi Valley State University did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Alcorn State, which listed an Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on the state auditor’s report. The university’s website now lists an Office of Educational Equity and Inclusion, but a spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

In response to questions from Mississippi Today, a Jackson State University spokesperson responded “I have no new info to share with you.”

Though USM renamed its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion last month, its mission remains unchanged, according a statement from the university.

“The Southern Miss family is comprised of many first-generation students and graduates, and that is something we are very proud of,” Eddie Holloway, a senior associate provost who helped lead the restructuring, said in a statement. “Ensuring these, and all students at Southern Miss, have opportunities to learn, lead and excel, remains a key priority for our institution.”

Last November, Mississippi State University announced a new organizational structure for its Division for Access, Diversity and Inclusion, as well as a new name. It is now called the Division of Access, Opportunity and Success. This effort got underway in 2020 in an effort to lessen disparate outcomes that a taskforce found among first-generational, low-income and racial minority students at the university.

Alongside the renaming, the university moved programs aimed at low-income, housing insecure and first-generation students under the Office of Access and Success, according to a presentation the division’s vice president, Ra’Sheda Boddie-Forbes, gave to the faculty senate earlier this year.

Boddie-Forbes told the faculty senate it’s not a secret that DEI has come under attack but that it was important for Mississippi State to continue the work of trying to help students from all backgrounds earn a degree. She said she had spoken with President Mark Keenum about how to protect and expand efforts to support the university’s marginalized students.

“When we think about how we deepen that work at the institution, one of the things that we know we can do is think about the nomenclature associated with the work,” she said, according to a recording of the meeting. “So, how does our work become more grounded in the fact that we’re doing work around ‘access,’ we’re doing work around ‘opportunity,’ and we’re doing work around ‘success?’ So that’s what we decided to do.” 

In a statement, Sid Salter, MSU’s vice president for strategic communications, said the restructuring did not result in the loss of any programs, initiatives, scholarships or jobs but that the university’s offerings are “constantly evaluated and are subject to change as the needs of our students evolve.”

“MSU’s Division of Access, Opportunity and Success exists with the express mission of providing programming and assistance to students to help them be successful in obtaining a college degree,” Salter wrote. “Our students come from many diverse backgrounds – some are first-generation college students, some are from the foster system, some are disabled, some are veterans, some have economic challenges – and the list goes on.”

Delta State University, according to a university webpage, started developing diversity initiatives in 2007. DEI programs, which have not been reduced, are now run through student affairs, according to an email from a spokesperson.

A spokesperson for Mississippi University for Women, which does not appear to have a DEI office, said the university had not made any changes.

‘An example for the nation and the world’

At Ole Miss, the division in question was founded in 2017 as a hub for various diversity initiatives the university had developed over the years. 

But its primary responsibility was implementing the university’s ambitious “Pathways to Equity” plan that committed the campus to three, five-year goals: Create more capacity for equity on campus, cultivate a diverse community and foster an inclusive climate. Each administrative school was charged with creating its own DEI goals.

The university hoped the plan could be an inspiration to other institutions. 

“By taking this responsibility seriously and plotting a principled and measurable path forward, we also can play a role in setting an example for the nation and the world,” Provost Noel Wilkin said in a 2021 press release. 

Ole Miss has achieved some of the plan’s specific goals, such as commemorating the 60th anniversary of the university’s integration. The number of Black faculty at the university has increased but still comprises a small portion of the more than 600 faculty, according to IHL and federal data. 

On other goals, progress has been a struggle. Since the plan was announced, the number of Black students on campus has steadily fallen, according to IHL data of on-campus headcount enrollment. In 2023, Ole Miss enrolled 2,156 Black students — several hundred less than it did in 2013.

Many Mississippi higher ed officials support DEI

This trend is not unique to Ole Miss. The IHL system enrolls fewer Black students than it used to while white enrollment remains roughly the same, though the root cause of this trend is likely complex. 

Still, higher education officials in Mississippi continue to say diversity is an important part of their campuses. As of January last year, the governing board of Mississippi’s eight universities evaluates the college presidents, whom the board has the power to hire and fire, based in part on how well they promote “campus diversity.”

The Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees’ policies and bylaws also includes a diversity statement, last issued in 2013, that reads in part, “Institutions of higher learning have a moral and educational responsibility to ensure that talent is developed in all our citizens, and that our universities, individually and collectively, are strengthened by diversity in student bodies, faculties, administration, and in all areas offering employment opportunities, including construction, financing and consulting.”

When IHL held its annual diversity awards earlier this year, the trustee who presented the awards, Steven Cunningham, a radiologist who attended Jackson State University, thanked the presidents for supporting diversity on their campuses. 

“In this current environment of nationwide, orchestrated assaults against DEI programs by organizations such as the Claremont Institute and others like it, you guys continue to foster representative communities on your campuses, and I just want to thank you for your courage and your leadership in that endeavor, so thank you so much guys,” Cunningham said. “Those thoughts are mine and mine alone, and I approve that message.”

The Claremont Institute is a conservative think-tank based in California with ties to former President Donald Trump that has helped to lead the movement against DEI programs, according to the New York Times.

In a sit-down video recorded last fall, Keenum discussed Mississippi State’s diversity programming with Salter.

The president said he was passionate about and defensive of the work Mississippi State does to support marginalized students. Keenum added that the total bans on DEI programs in states like Texas and Florida came from a place of misunderstanding. 

“Because of the perception that there’s a ‘woke indoctrination,’ they’re missing the fact that these programs are here to help students succeed that come to us with different backgrounds,” Keenum said. “And that’s what we’re about here at Mississippi State.” 

“What I heard you say and what I’ve heard Ra’Sheda say as she talks about reorganizing her division is access opportunity and student success,” Salter responded. “And those are all goals nobody can argue with.” 

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Spring 2024 preliminary state test results reported to districts across the state were scored incorrectly according to the Mississippi Department of Education, leading the agency to end a contract with the company responsible for the error. 

School districts across the state were left scrambling to re-assess the corrected data, which they use to make determinations about everything from graduation requirements to instructional strategies for the 2024-25 school year, which for some districts has already begun. Some students ended up meeting graduation requirements and graduating in the summertime.

The majority of initial data was incorrect due to erroneous scoring by the Northwest Evaluation Association — the Oregon-based company the state contracted with to provide and process the tests. In a July 18 meeting, the State Board of Education voted to sever their contract with the company, which the state has been working with since 2015. The Mississippi Academic Assessment Program measures student achievement in English Language Arts, mathematics, science and U.S. history.

The average yearly contract with the company has been $8,161,518.84.

“We were not aware that there was any type of error when we initially received the files from the vendor, but we were concerned,” Paula Vanderford, chief accountability officer for MDE, said. 

At the state level, the dip in proficiency scores raised eyebrows, but MDE staff was unable to identify anything that would confirm the scores were inaccurate.  

The results were then shared with school districts. Many districts reported knowing that something was wrong as soon as the scores were returned to them, because of their ability to look at individual student performance.

“The word I kept using was unexpected,” said Ryan Kuykendall, chief accountability officer for DeSoto County Public Schools, the largest public school district in the state. “We do a lot of assessments throughout the year to track student progress and adjust our instruction, so the hope is that when the state assessment comes back you sort of know where the students are. So, the results were unexpected.”

The data was released to school districts on June 17. By July 2, after communication with districts about their concerns, the state confirmed that the data was erroneous and that they would be receiving a new batch of data. 

This put a squeeze on central offices across the state, who had to process the test results for a second time, in a fraction of the time. 

“It was extra work. There’s no way to deny that. The way I viewed it and tried to get across to our department is that we’re just after the correct results. Whatever the correct results are, are what we need,” Kuykendall said. “But I can’t pretend that it didn’t make our administrative schedule very difficult and tight.”

MDE identified the error, but it had to rely on the vendor to fix the programming error that led to the erroneous scoring and provide the state with correct data. 

Though a different vendor processes the 5th and 8th grade science, biology and U.S. History MAAP assessments, all state test results were processed again to ensure accuracy, State Superintendent of Education Lance Evans said. 

MDE was unable to provide details about the severance of its contract with NWEA, but awarded an emergency contract to Data Recognition Corp. for the upcoming school year. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, of which NWEA is a division, will continue to be the provider for the state’s alternative assessments.

“In short, faulty item parameters used in our scoring process resulted in incorrect achievement level thresholds, which determine how students perform on an assessment,” Simona Beattie, communications director for NWEA, said in an email. “While we are disappointed in the decision made by the Mississippi State Department of Education to terminate our contract…we understand the state’s frustration and are focusing on our continued work with MDE to provide its alternative state assessments.”

Statewide, the Mississippi Department of Education has been notified of 12 students across seven districts who became eligible to graduate after the assessments were rescored, and graduated this summer. None of the scoring changes resulted in those students passing the tests — Mississippi students who score well enough on subject area tests can graduate if their class scores are high enough. 

UPDATE 8/2/24: This story has been updated to correct the date the data was released to school districts.

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Following several delays and scrutiny over funding and location, construction of the state’s first skilled pediatric facility is underway in Jackson.

The Alyce G. Clarke Center for Medically Fragile Children will care for patients younger than 19 with complex medical conditions, providing long-term care for some children and training for others’ families to care for them at home.

“For long-term residents, this will feel like a home,” said Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, in a press release. “They won’t feel like they are in a hospital, even though they will be provided with the same level of care.” 

Construction of the 20-bed facility began this spring and is planned for completion by fall 2025.

This is the second time the project has broken ground. The center held its first groundbreaking ceremony in 2019, a month before former Gov. Phil Bryant left office, and planned to begin construction in 2021.

Jones said the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the project, attributing the delay to rising costs and supply chain issues.

UMMC awarded the $12.2 million contract to Mid State Construction Co., Inc in February. The total project costs are estimated at $15.9 million.

The project will be funded by $14.5 million in bonds awarded by the Mississippi Legislature in 2019 and 2020, though the project was initially intended to be paid for by private funders.

The state Legislature originally passed a law in 2018 to lease state owned land off Ridgewood Road in Jackson to a nonprofit, which would construct, own and operate the facility. Then-First Lady Deborah Bryant’s chief of staff set up the nonprofit that would spearhead and fundraise for the project, Mississippi Center for Medically Fragile Children, that year. 

Nancy New, the Families First leader who pleaded guilty in 2022 for her role in channeling Mississippi welfare grant funds for illegal projects, served on the nonprofit’s board.

Tax returns from 2018 to 2020 show Mississippi Center for Medically Fragile Children raised $3.2 million. The Clarion-Ledger reported that UMMC made a $1 million donation to the center. In 2020, after New was arrested, she was removed from the board, the nonprofit dissolved and Children’s of Mississippi, the pediatric division of UMMC, assumed responsibility for the project. The nonprofit transferred its remaining $1.3 million to UMMC.

The Clarion-Ledger reported in 2020 that Families First, the program New ran through her nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center, was “a partner of the project and will offer services to families at the facility,” according to Mississippi Center for Medically Fragile Children’s now-defunct website. State Auditor Shad White, who investigated the sprawling fraud scheme, said he did not find any evidence of payments between New’s nonprofit and the center.

However, Mississippi Department of Human Services’ ongoing civil suit, which serves as the state’s effort to recoup millions in allegedly misspent welfare funds, describes Families First’s original proposal to use welfare funds to build the pediatric facility as a “model” for alleged misspending that followed – the construction of a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Before New’s nonprofit entertained entering a $5 million sublease with University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation, allegedly as a way to circumvent the federal prohibition on using welfare funds for “brick and mortar” projects, the idea was for her nonprofit to enter a similar lease to build the pediatric facility with welfare funds, emails show. It’s unclear why that lease was never executed, according to MDHS’s lawsuit, but White acknowledged to The Clarion-Ledger that New “could have directed funding to the center by other means.”

Patients at the new center will include newborns who require additional time on ventilators to adolescents that require skilled nursing care. The conditions of patients at the center will range from children who have been injured in accidents to those who have congenital or genetic conditions.

Children’s of Mississippi has for years provided long-term care to patients in an acute-care hospital setting. The new center will provide a more comfortable setting for long-term care. 

“This new facility is designed to look and feel like each room is an individual home,” said Dr. Christian Paine, chief of the Division of Pediatric Palliative Medicine at UMMC. “In addition, children whose families are training to learn the skills necessary to eventually move home with medical technology will have a more home-like environment in which to learn.” 

The new pediatric facility is named for former Rep. Clarke, the first African American woman to serve in the Mississippi Legislature and an advocate for the project. She became involved when Calvary Baptist Church in west Jackson, the area Clarke represented, planned to renovate its building to house the center. After years of working on the proposal, the church was later left out of the plan. Some lawmakers accused state leadership of hijacking the church’s proposal to change the location to east of the interstate, next to the wealthier neighborhood of Eastover.

“It appears that it’s difficult for people to understand that we want good, nice things in our neighborhood, too,” Clarke said at the time in 2018.

“What I was trying to do was to improve that area over there and the fact that it’s not in the area, it doesn’t make me feel good,” Clarke told Mississippi Today on Thursday. “But at least I’m glad they’re finally getting to work on it and it’s something that we’ve needed for years.”

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Most of the Neshoba County Fair crowd stood Thursday and chanted “fight, fight, fight” at the behest of Republican Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson who vowed to battle the “liberal, woke agenda that has America in its jaws.”

Fight was the cry of former President Donald Trump as he was helped up by Secret Service agents after barely escaping an assassination attempt at a recent Pennsylvania rally. Fight also is what Trump urged his followers to do in 2021 before they attacked the U.S. Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

 The animated crowd was an example of how the second day of political speaking at the red dirt Founder’s Square at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday was mostly highlighted by red-meat statements stressing the importance of electing Donald Trump as president and less on state policy positions.

But the statewide officeholders, led by Gov. Tate Reeves, did promote what he called “core conservative policies” that he and other speakers said have led to progress in Mississippi.

As is always the case at the fair during the fair’s political stumping, there was lots of speculation about what politicians will be jockeying for offices in Mississippi’s 2027 statewide elections.

One fair visitor making the rounds at cabins and glad-handing was the source of much talk Thursday: billionaire businessman Thomas Duff, a potential Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2027.

Duff, the co-wealthiest Mississippian along with his brother, has helped fund numerous other politicians’ campaigns over the years and could self-fund a serious one for himself.

Asked about any plans to run for governor as he met with movers and shakers at the fair, Duff said: “I’m very much considering it, and I’m very much interested in it.”

Gipson told reporters he is not ruling out a run for governor in 2027.

“I am praying about that,” Gipson said. “I … have not made a decision,” though he said he has started fund-raising efforts.

READ MORE: Hosemann, White trade jabs, hint at gubernatorial aspirations at Neshoba Fair

Second term Secretary of State Michael Watson, who also spoke Thursday, has reportedly been considering a run either for governor or lieutenant governor, though he did not tip his hand to his future political plans.

Watson, the chief administrator of Mississippi’s elections, used part of his speech to advocate for Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who did not speak at the fair because of a scheduling conflict, to prosecute election fraud crimes.

“I’m not here to attack, but I am here to ask people to do their jobs,” Watson said, who added that he would like to see an attorney with the Attorney General’s Office specifically assigned to prosecute election-related crimes.

Speaking at the fair for the first time on Thursday, House Speaker Jason White, a Republican from West, said health care would again be a priority during the 2025 session. He said the House would maintain “an open mind” on expanding Medicaid to the working poor and wants to reach a compromise with the governor and the Senate.

But Reeves, who said in his speech that he had spoken at the annual political speaking more than any governor in the history of the state, told reporters he still opposes Medicaid expansion, though he thanked the speaker for advancing conservative policy in other areas.

When a reporter pointed out the many bad health care outcomes in the state, such as the nation’s highest infant mortality rate, Reeves said, “We want to work on these things, There are plenty of items we need to work on when it comes to health care.”

He added some  of those poor outcomes are not the fault of government.

This past session both chambers passed legislation to expand Medicaid, but that effort proved unsuccessful when the House and Senate could not agree on a final proposal.

Reeves said many of the policies he has espoused during his 20-year tenure as treasurer, lieutenant governor and governor were first unveiled at the fair.

“As Donald Trump would say, we are winning like never before,” Reeves said of Mississippi.

He added, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have steered the national economy into the ditch.”

None acknowledged that inflation is coming down and that employment has dramatically increased nationwide, though, they cited strong employment numbers in Mississippi. None cited legislation supported by Biden that has helped spur the state economy, such as improving infrastructure and expanding broadband internet access.

Repeating the refrain from his successful 2023 reelect campaign, Reeves said, “Mississippi has momentum. This is Mississippi’s time.”

He added, “I don’t want to be just Mississippi good. I want to set the national standard. I want  to beat Georgia’s ass.”

After his speech, Reeves declined to respond when asked about comments Trump made Wednesday that Vice President Harris only identified as Black recently as she ran for president.

Reeves said he wants to instead focus on Harris’ record.

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