State Rep. Hopkins term limiting himself, will not seek a third term representing House District 7

The DeSoto County state representative says he told voters he believed in term limits and he’s keeping his word.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, State Rep. Steve Hopkins, a Republican representing House District 7 in DeSoto County, announced that he would not be seeking re-election next year.

Hopkins, who is the outspoken chairman of the Freedom Caucus, has served in the Mississippi House of Representatives since 2016. He wrote on his Facebook page that when he campaigned, he told voters that he believed in term limits and to keep his word, he would be term limiting himself by not seeking re-election in 2023.

“I have served 2 terms,” Rep. Hopkins wrote. “I told people at their front door both times that I ran that I believed in term limits so much so that I would term limit myself. It is imperative that I keep my word because without that I become just another stereotypical politician.”

Hopkins went on to say that he is unsure of what, if anything, will be in his political future, but after next year he plans to focus on his family.

Rep. Hopkins encouraged constituents to consider who should run for the seat next year, offering a warning against supporting someone too closely tied to local DeSoto County “tax and spend” office holders.

“District 7 supporters, please pray for someone to run to take my place that will vote according to your will and not that of the tax and spend board of Supervisors, aldermen and mayors,” Hopkins wrote.

Hopkins added that Mississippi has a lot of work to do. He claimed that the state is “ripe with corruption,” saying that “politicians cover each other for the most part.”

You can see the full Facebook post from Rep. Hopkins below.