The Neshoba County Fair is notorious for its horse races, as evidenced by ESPN’s presence at the annual extravaganza earlier this week. But for political junkies, Mississippi’s Giant House Party is also widely regarded as a prime host site for public officials and office-seekers alike to deliver stump speeches under the pavilion at Founder’s Square. This year, one particular elected leader, who also happens to be a candidate for a higher office, jockeyed at the podium to garner momentum for the 2027 governor’s race.
Andy Gipson, Mississippi’s commissioner of agriculture and commerce, literally tossed his cowboy hat during his time on stage Wednesday in an attempt to show voters that he should be their choice succeed a term-limited Tate Reeves. Gipson officially announced his bid for governor in June, then nearly immediately proceeded to embark on a “Make Mississippi Healthy Again” farm tour, where he traveled across the state and certainly built name identification.
But every candidate in Mississippi knows that the apex of the state’s political scene is the Neshoba County Fair, a place that proved to be a pivotal stop for Ronald Reagan ahead of his inaugural term in the Oval Office. Gipson, no stranger to delivering prepared speeches in front of audiences at the historic venue, seized the opportunity to vouch for a Mississippi under his guidance ahead of what is anticipated to be a crowded GOP field seeking the Governor’s Mansion.
“The people who founded Mississippi were pioneers, and I descended from those people. We know what it means to look at a broad horizon and not have a clear path, and say, ‘You know what? Where there isn’t a path, we’ll blaze the trail,'” Gipson said. “Speaking of the future, I am running for governor. I prayed about this for a long time. I sought the Lord’s leading, and the Lord told me to do it, and to do it now.”
Acknowledging Reeves as a “good governor” and an instrumental leader in securing major economic development successes inside state lines, Gipson expressed a sense of eagerness to be handed the proverbial baton that is Mississippi’s future. Emphasizing that he would first prioritize the state’s agriculture industry, which is valued at around $9 billion, Gipson contended that he would also continue paving a business-friendly path for Mississippi.
“Most people don’t know that I have 20 years of experience doing business deals in the state of Mississippi,” Gipson said. “I’ve represented private companies raising capital. [I’m] a very highly successful deal maker. I can bring those same deal-making skills to the governor’s office to do the same thing for the people of Mississippi.”
The agriculture commissioner listed public safety as another key aspect of his gubernatorial platform. Alleging that “criminal gang activity” has been seeping into Mississippi from largely populated cities in the surrounding states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee, Gipson ensured that he would be a governor an unapologetically pro-law and order governor.
In 2022, six people were shot and one was killed at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival held at the state fairgrounds. Following the violent incident, Gipson, who oversees events at the fairgrounds, made it his mission to prevent future violent outbreaks at any site under his jurisdiction. Later that year, Gipson increased security measures at the Mississippi State Fair, and the annual event has been devoid of major violent incidents since an influx of regulations was installed.
“These folks are coming here with brazen criminal intent. I want the whole world to know that we’re going to arrest every single [criminal] we find, and we will put the fear of God in the rest of them,” Gipson continued. “They’re going to want to leave town.”
Claiming that reducing crime at the fairgrounds in Jackson, a city once referred to as “America’s murder capital,” was the most difficult task he’s handled, Gipson said he is looking forward to working with the municipality’s new mayor, John Horhn, to continue cleaning up the state’s most populous city.
Other checklist items under a Gipson administration would include improving transportation infrastructure, capitalizing on the state’s water supply, making Mississippi a bigger player in food production, taking advantage of available energy resources, promoting government efficiency, and pushing for school choice initiatives.
“We want to make that happen, working together, looking ahead, and planning for the future,” Gipson said. “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail, and we’re not going to fail.”
Gipson was the first to announce a 2027 bid for governor, as Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has not explicitly committed to a candidacy for higher office. But the agriculture commissioner is not expected to be the last in his party to push for the post held by Reeves since January 2020.
Other unofficial but possible prospects for governorship on the Republican side include Attorney General Lynn Fitch, State Auditor Shad White, prominent Mississippi businessman Tommy Duff, and former House Speaker Philip Gunn. With a little more than two years left before party primaries are held, plenty of stones are left to be turned. But for now, Gipson has garnered at least some momentum for the time being.