Former Hattiesburg mayor and gov candidate Johnny Dupree runs for Secretary of State

Johnny Dupree is running for Secretary of State, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

Dupree, a Democrat, was the longtime mayor of Hattiesburg, from 2001 to 2017. In 2011, he became the first African-American since Reconstruction to be a major party nominee in the State of Mississippi. Governor Phil Bryant defeated Dupree by 22 points in that general election.  In 2017, he lost the bid for his fifth term as mayor to Republican Toby Barker, who ran for the seat as an independent.

The decision to run for Secretary of State came from realizing that there was still work to be done in election reform while teaching policy to students at Southern Miss, Dupree told the Clarion-Ledger.

Senator Michael Watson and Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton are running in the GOP primary for Secretary of State.