MS-Gov: On Tuesday, state Rep. Robert Foster announced that he was joining the 2019 GOP primary to succeed termed-out GOP Gov. Phil Bryant. Foster, a freshman legislator from DeSoto County in the Memphis suburbs who has quite the haircut, pitched himself as a “conservative outsider.” He may be best known for his social media outbursts: A day before Election Day, Foster tweeted, "Anyone who votes Dem. in 18 is either ignorant or evil."
Back in 2016, Foster was also one of six state house members photographed at a rally held by the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other groups that were urging Mississippi not to remove the Confederate battle emblem from its state flag. Foster, who was shown in front of an oversized Mississippi flag, claimed Monday that the dispute isn’t “something I ever really talk about.”
Foster joins Petal Mayor Hal Marx, who announced he was running for governor back in May with very little fanfare, in the GOP primary. The big name everyone’s waiting on is Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who says he’ll likely announce his plans in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 8 legislative session. Mississippi politicos pretty much universally expect Reeves, who had $5.4 million in the bank at the end of 2017, to declare he’s running.
However, it remains to be seen if any other notable Magnolia State Republicans jump into the August primary ahead of the March 1 filing deadline. The Clarion-Ledger recently listed a number of other potential candidates whom they all classified as considering, but there’s little information about how interested all of them are.
Here’s what we do know about the would-be contenders. Back in October, the paper wrote that some unnamed Republicans were looking to field a business leader, whom they argued could contrast well with Attorney General Jim Hood, the Democratic primary frontrunner. The names that came up the most were energy industry magnate Bill Lampton and billionaire Thomas Duff, whom Forbes recently listed as one of the richest people in the state.
We haven’t heard anything else about either man’s interest in running, or lack thereof. However, the paper’s December list of potential candidates only names Duff, so it’s possible that Lampton has quietly made it known that he’s not interested.
This month, the Clarion-Ledger also classified businessman Gerard Gibert as another dude who was considering seeking the GOP nod. Gibert doesn’t appear to have said much publicly about his interest, but last week, he tweeted that article out and said, “MS elex: Who's running for governor, other open seats in 2019 elections. Hmm…” Hmm … indeed.
The paper also lists state Supreme Court Chief Justice William Waller as considering. The Clarion-Ledger recently wrote that he’s forbidden from declaring a party affiliation as a justice, and they don’t classify him with one. Waller is the son of the late Gov. William Waller Sr., who served as a Democrat from 1972 to 1976 and appointed African-Americans to state administrative boards and commissions for the first time since Reconstruction.
Unlike many of his potential rivals, Waller actually has acknowledged he’s thinking about jumping in. Back in November, when he announced that he would soon step down from the bench, Waller was asked about rumors that he would run for governor and responded, “I'm not closing any doors at this time,” and “I will decide after I retire Jan. 31.” The Clarion-Ledger also wrote this month that Waller “has long been considered a likely candidate.”