| Mississippi Republican Party | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Arnie Hederman[1] |
| Senate leader | Tate Reeves |
| House leader | Philip Gunn |
| Headquarters | P.O. Box 60, Jackson, Mississippi 39205 |
| Ideology | Center-right Conservatism |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Official colors | Red |
| Seats in the Upper House |
31 / 52
|
| Seats in the Lower House |
64 / 122
|
| Website | |
| http://msgop.org/ | |
| Politics of the United States Political parties Elections |
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The Mississippi Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party. The party chairman is Arnie Hederman and is based in Jackson, Mississippi. The original Republican Party of Mississippi was founded following the American Civil War, the current incarnation of the Mississippi Republican Party was founded in 1956. The party would grow in popularity during the 1960s with wedge issues such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and today the party is the majority in the state.
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In 1956, Wirt A. Yerger, Jr. founded the modern Mississippi Republican Party and served as the first State Chairman from 1956 until 1966. He was Chairman of the Mississippi Delegation to the Republican National Convention in 1956, 1960 and 1964. He was elected to a four-year term as Chairman of the Southern Association of Republican State Chairman in 1960. In 2009, the Central Committee of the Mississippi Republican Party named Yerger Chairman Emeritus. The Mississippi Republican Party would grow in supporters with the popularity of then President Dwight D. Eisenhower and on September 24, 1960, Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon campaigned in the state, the first time a presidential candidate had appeared in the state in more than a century. [2] During the 1964 Republican National Convention Mississippi delegates would help nominate Barry Goldwater for President. Goldwater would go on to win 87 percent of the vote in Mississippi in the 1964 Presidential Election, the first time a Republican would win the state since the Reconstruction Era. [3] Only once since 1956 has a non-Republican presidential candidate won the state of Mississippi, Jimmy Carter in the 1976 Presidential Election. [4] In 1988, Republican Congressman Trent Lott would defeat Democratic Congressman Wayne Dowdy to replace retiring Senator John Stennis(D-MS).
In 1963, Rubel Phillips became the first Republican nominee for governor in 80 years, challenging then-Lt. Gov. Paul Johnson, Jr. and garnering 38 percent of the vote. Phillips ran again in 1967 against John Bell Williams but lost again, this time earning 29 percent of the vote. In 1991, for the first time in over a century a Republican would become the Governor of Mississippi, when Kirk Fordice would earn 50.8 percent of the popular vote, defeating Democrat Ray Mabus.[5] In the 2003 Mississippi Gubernatorial Election, Haley Barbour defeated then incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove with 52.59% of the vote. [6] On November 8, 2011, Phil Bryant was elected Governor of Mississippi and will assume office in January 2012.
While Mississippi Republicans take positions on a wide variety of issues, some of the noteworthy ones include:
The Mississippi Republican Party holds seven of the eight statewide offices and holds a majority in the Mississippi Senate. Republicans also hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 3 of the state's 4 U.S. House seats.