NESHOBA COUNTY — Gubernatorial ambitions, declared and yet-to-be, were in the rainy Mississippi summer air on Wednesday as statewide officials delivered political speeches at the Neshoba County Fair.
Republican Attorney General and prospective gubernatorial candidate Lynn Fitch said an announcement regarding her political future is soon forthcoming. A potential rival for the state’s highest office, term-limited Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, again hinted at a run for the state’s top job, declaring he would keep working as long as Mississippians would “keep hiring” him.
Republicans Fitch and Hosemann both stopped short of announcing a run for governor, but Fitch, who could also run for a third term as attorney general, said she would make her 2027 intentions known soon.
Fitch said, “I’ve been very encouraged by people across the state, and I’m so grateful for the encouragement and faith and the trust people have put into me as the attorney general and the treasurer. I’m excited about next steps.”
In a speech that pointed toward the future, Fitch said Mississippi was nearing a pivotal moment that would shape its trajectory for years to come.
“We’re at a moment when we can transform Mississippi from one of the nation’s best kept secrets to the very top of the leaderboard,” Fitch said.
Fitch pointed to the improved reading scores among elementary school students, that some have dubbed the “Mississippi miracle,” as evidence the state is on the right track and needs to build on recent gains. She also said the state’s pro-business climate has led to gains in economic development and private investment. With respect to her own office, Fitch pointed to her work cracking down on illegal drug rings and Medicaid fraud.
The first day of political speeches took place exactly four years after the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. That decision, which was argued by attorneys in Fitch’s office, upended what had been a nationwide right to abortion. In Mississippi, a state with some of the worst maternal health outcomes, abortion is now illegal except under a narrow set of circumstances.
“Mississippi, led by the attorney general’s office, showed the world how to make legal history. And then Mississippi showed the world how to make good on the promise to empower women and promote life,” Fitch said.
Standing beside the stage after her speech, Fitch faced pointed questions from an activist who questioned Fitch’s claim that she had “empowered women” after working to outlaw abortion. Fitch didn’t answer many of the specific questions, but said she wanted to protect women and children.
Speaking to reporters, Fitch also applauded the Mississippi Supreme Court’s recent ruling that said her office has the power to sue to recover misspent welfare money and not State Auditor Shad White, who is also a likely gubernatorial candidate.
White did not attend the fair because he is currently deployed to the Middle East as a captain in the Mississippi Army National Guard. One of the event organizers read a statement on White’s behalf wishing attendees a “safe and happy fair.”
Hosemann in his speech highlighted legislation passed during the most recent session including a $2,000 teacher pay raise, infrastructure investment and banning the drug misoprostol, which can be used as an abortion medication.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann speaks at the Neshoba County Fair on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, near Philadelphia. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayHosemann, who leads the state Senate, also left no doubt that he would push to redraw Mississippi’s electoral maps after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision. The ruling cleared the way for states such as Mississippi to eliminate majority-Black electoral districts.
“We’re going to redistrict Mississippi,” Hosemann said. “One of the few rights we have as a state is our right to set the way we elect people and their districts.”
Hosemann recently created a Senate select committee to study redistricting. The majority-white, Republican-dominated Legislature could be poised to revert to the maps lawmakers initially drew in 2022 to account for population shifts across the state. A redrawing of those maps could erase some small gains Democrats made in the Legislature in recent years.
“When we tried to redistrict Mississippi, the way your Legislature, the people you hired, wanted to redistrict Mississippi, the federal court said, ‘no, you can’t do it that way. You’ve got to redistrict another way. We want other people elected.’ The Democrats used that to make sure they elected Democrats,” Hosemann said.
When asked whether he was concerned such a move would dilute Black political power and representation in Mississippi, Hosemann said the Callais decision barred states from considering race when drawing electoral maps. He also said people would have the ability to make their voices heard at upcoming select committee hearings.
Hosemann said he expects the Legislature to redraw legislative, state Supreme Court and congressional districts. On the specific question of whether he wants the Legislature to redraw maps to intentionally oust Rep. Bennie Thompson, the state’s lone Democratic and lone Black member of Congress, Hosemann said that wasn’t his primary concern.
“I’m not getting into one congressman or another congressman,” Hosemann said.
The two Republican candidates who have officially entered the gubernatorial race, former House Speaker Philip Gunn and Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, were also at Founder’s Square shaking hands and chatting with fairgoers.
Gunn told Mississippi Today he was traveling around the state meeting with voters, and that he was the only potential candidate with a strong legislative background to champion. Gipson is scheduled to speak at the fair on Thursday.
“I think that’s the distinguishing factor between me and everyone else that’s talking about running,” Gunn said. “None of them were involved with getting the votes to make those things happen.”
State Treasurer David McRae, who was seen by some as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor, announced on Wednesday that he is running for a third term as treasurer.
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