Mississippi could use many more public servants such as Delbert Hosemann, who this year is seeking his fifth term as a statewide public official.
Hosemann is smart, visionary and pragmatic. He knows how to get things done, and how to work with others — whether they be from Washington or across the political aisle — to accomplish goals that will serve this state and its people well.
Delbert Hosemann
Hosemann showed that aptitude during 12 years as secretary of state. He’s continued it since being elected lieutenant governor in 2019.
During Hosemann’s first term in that office, the state has put itself into one of its best fiscal positions ever, even while enacting substantive legislation, including both the largest tax cut and the largest teacher pay raise (by dollar amount) in state history.
Of course, Mississippi was able to afford all of this because of the doubled-edged sword of COVID-19. That pandemic, though delivering great medical misery, also produced a torrent of federal relief dollars that have bolstered state economies and treasuries all over the country.
Hosemann, as head of the state Senate, has been instrumental in persuading lawmakers not to squander this windfall or to get too giddy because of it. He understands that everything has a cycle, and that an economic downturn is certain to come at some point. Thus, rather than giving into those, such as Gov. Tate Reeves and outgoing House Speaker Philip Gunn, who want to eliminate the state’s personal income tax, Hosemann has prevailed in arguing for a gradual approach, reducing the tax but waiting to see how that works out before cutting further.
He also put together the plan, enacted by the Legislature, to use a significant share of the state’s allocation of federal relief funds to create a matching grant program for cities and counties to invest in infrastructure. The result will be long-term improvements to water and sewer systems that will be much more extensive than they otherwise would have been.
And, not to put a small value on it, Hosemann is honest and trustworthy. Those attributes are sadly in short supply these days among politicians who believe the way to accomplish their personal and political ends is to repeat a lie so often until the voters lose the ability to distinguish between what’s true and what’s not.
Hosemann’s opponent in next Tuesday’s Republican primary, Chris McDaniel, is a conservative firebrand who has shown himself to be, as Texans like to say, “all hat and no cattle.”
His shtick is running to the right of so-called “establishment Republicans,” coming close to upsetting aging U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014.
Although McDaniel has served in the state Senate since 2008, he has little to show for it. That’s because his confrontational style is better at fostering enemies in the Legislature than a coalition to get proposals passed.
He is particularly unsuited for the job of lieutenant governor, since he chokes on the word “compromise” rather than accept that it is a necessary and unavoidable part of the legislative process.
Plus there are trust issues about McDaniel. He and his out-of-state supporters have been flouting Mississippi’s campaign finance laws. There are even doubts about whether he actually lives in the legislative district he was elected to represent.
On virtually every count — character, effectiveness, vision — Hosemann is the far superior choice. We endorse him without reservation in the Republican primary.
