Joel Carter shakes hands with Donald Trump (Photo from Joel Carter's Facebook video)
- The Coast State Senator thanks President Trump for his endorsement but says “it’s not my time.” He will seek re-election to the Mississippi Legislature in 2027.
Despite an endorsement from President Donald Trump (R), State Senator Joel Carter (R) said Friday that he would not be running for Mississippi Secretary of State in the 2027 election cycle.
“I appreciate the President’s endorsement for Secretary of State,” Carter wrote on social media. “Family comes first and it’s not my time.”
Carter went on to say that he intends to seek re-election to the Senate District 49 seat he has held since 2018.
“It’s more than me and it always has been,” Carter said. “This is where I belong.”
Carter had openly floated the possibility of him running for Secretary of State in late 2024. He shared a video on Facebook of Trump offering an endorsement of Carter’s candidacy when the two were at an event at Mar-a-Lago, the President’s Florida home.
“Good luck. Good luck. That’s a good state for me, isn’t it?” Trump asked Carter, before saying, “You have my endorsement? You better have. I wish you well.”
Carter responded by saying, “Absolutely. I’ll go ahead and put it out there.”
It is anticipated that current two-term Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) will make a run for Lieutenant Governor in 2027, opening up one of the eight statewide offices.
The potential for the open seat race has already drawn two candidates who are actively campaigning for the job – State Senator Jeff Tate (R) and Shuwaski Young, a Democrat turned Republican.
Other Republican names mentioned around the Capitol as possible candidates for Secretary of State are State Rep. Lee Yancey, State Senator Brice Wiggins, State Senator Jeremy England and former Deputy Attorney General Whitney Lipscomb.
Possible Democratic candidates mentioned for the office include State Senator David Blount and former House members Brandon Jones and David Baria.
Incoming State Rep. Johnny DuPree (D) could make another run for the office as well. He ran against Watson in 2019, losing 59 percent to 41 percent in the General Election.
Prior to Watson winning the Secretary of State seat in 2019, current Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) occupied the office for three terms beginning in 2008, becoming the first Republican to hold the office since 1878. The two Democrats that held the office before Hosemann – Eric Clark and Dick Molpus – both also served three terms.
