Michael Watson announces run for lieutenant governor
By Taylor Vance | Originally published by Mississippi Today
This article will be updated.
PASCAGOULA – Secretary of State Michael Watson announced in his hometown of Pascagoula on Tuesday morning that he will run for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary next year.
“As the son of a shipyard worker and a bank teller, I’ve never forgotten where I came from,” Watson told a hometown crowd in Pascagoula on Tuesday.
Watson is planning to hold a series of announcement events around the state over the next few days that will conclude in Brookhaven on Thursday night.
Watson was first elected to the state Senate in 2007, where he represented Jackson County for three terms. He later won a bid in 2019 to become secretary of state and was easily reelected to a second term in 2023.
Since serving as secretary of state, Watson has championed measures to ensure only U.S. citizens vote in Mississippi elections, to strengthen the state’s campaign finance laws and to repeal onerous “red tape” regulations on businesses.
The lieutenant governor has enormous sway over the legislative process and is the presiding officer of the Senate. The chamber’s rules allow the lieutenant governor to appoint people to lead legislative committees and refer bills to specific committees.
During the weeks leading up to his announcement, Watson met with current state senators and other political figures in the state to let them know he intended to run for lieutenant governor. In these meetings, he solicited input on what issues he should highlight during the campaign trial.
Watson is the first candidate to publicly announce a run for lieutenant governor for the 2027 election cycle. Current Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is term-limited, so he cannot seek reelection.
This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Source: Original Article
