(Photo from Shutterstock)
- “If my contribution is considered high, we’ve got a lot of work to do in Mississippi, for sure, in the Democratic Party,” Dr. Angela Robertson said.
A Mississippi State University professor donated more to the Mississippi Democratic Party than Brandon Presley, Dickie Scruggs, and most every other individual in-state donor in the 2024 calendar year, according to the party’s campaign finance filing.
Dr. Angela Robertson is a Research Professor and Associate Director and Coordinator of Research and Development at Mississippi State. In 2024, she donated a total of $8,360 to the Mississippi Democratic Party.
Robertson told Magnolia Tribune it was “absolutely amazing” to her that she was one of the top individual donors to the state party.
“I was amazed that I had given that much and that amount of money was considered one of the top donors,” she said, adding, “That’s terrible, if you want to know the truth. If my contribution is considered high, we’ve got a lot of work to do in Mississippi, for sure, in the Democratic Party.”
While Robertson’s gift put her near the top of individual in-state donors, the vast bulk of the funds raised by the Party came from out of state. The Harris Victory Fund and the Democratic National Committee donated over $3.3 million. The Mississippi Democratic Party disbursed $2.2 million of those funds back to the DNC.
Dr. Robertson’s work at Mississippi State has focused on reducing DUI recidivism, particularly recidivism among youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Robertson is viewed as an expert on the mental health service needs of justice-involved youth.
She said the donations “have nothing to do” with her 30 year employment at the university.
“I am not a representative of Mississippi State. What I am saying does not reflect the university,” she stated clearly.
Robertson is self-proclaimed “lifelong Democrat” because, as she said, the Democratic Party most closely reflects her values.
“I am a liberal in the true sense,” she said, noting the need to be broadminded, generous, and supportive of individual freedom and involvement in government.
She decided to do more to help advance her values during the 2024 cycle seeing a need in Mississippi.
“With this last election cycle and the thought of Donald Trump coming back into power was very worrisome to me and so that’s when I felt really strongly that I needed to do more than just vote. I needed to get involved in whatever way I could,” Robertson said.
However, getting involved in the Mississippi Democratic Party was not a clear path. It took a talk with her neighbor to learn how to do more than just donate.
Robertson went on to host a precinct caucus where only three people showed up. Then, she attended the county caucus and was nominated to go to the congressional caucus. She tried to get elected as a delegate to the national convention and an executive board member but was unsuccessful in that endeavor. Yet, she was still able to attend in Chicago.
“So, I did everything I could to get more involved with the state Democratic Party,” Robertson said, adding that she is now a member of the Oktibbeha County Executive Committee.
Robertson said she thinks many people are disappointed with the national party, just as she has been.
“I realized that I could have some input and some impact locally, and I feel like that’s where we have to start,” she said. “If we’re going to make, my goal is to turn Mississippi purple. I don’t think we’re going to turn it blue, that’s unrealistic. But I do believe that if we get people energized we can at least get some Democrats [elected on the state and congressional level].”
That is why she is supporting Ty Pinkins’ latest campaign against incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in the 2026 midterms.
“I really need to focus on what I can do to help Mississippi get off of the bottom of every good list and the top of every bad list,” she said, noting her desire to back the state party over requests for donations from the national party.
Robertson’s gift outshone other prominent Democrats
In comparison, former gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley donated $8,000 from his campaign account in 2024 to his state party while Dickie Scruggs, a longtime Democratic donor who served prison time for his role in a judicial bribery scheme, donated $4,500.
Ty Pinkins, a regular candidate for the Democratic Party, donated $10,500 to the Mississippi Democratic Party between his two accounts. Central Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons contributed $5,000.
Other notable donations to the Mississippi Democratic Party include State Rep. Justis Gibbs ($5,200), Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin ($2,500), Party Chairman and State Rep. Cheikh Taylor ($2,000), Planned Parenthood’s Felicia Brown-Williams ($240), and attorney Brad Pigott ($765).
The bulk of the Mississippi Democratic Party’s 2024 donations came by way of out-of-state support from the Harris Victory Fund ($3,137,500), the former Vice President’s presidential campaign account that began as the Biden Victory Fund, and the Democratic National Committee ($232,794.04).
