Mississippi Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson
- “One of the reasons I’m running for governor is we have lost the connection between our state officials and the hardworking regular real people of Mississippi,” Gipson said in an interview with Magnolia Tribune. “I’ve seen it, I’ve watched it happen in my career and I’m sick of it.”
Andy Gipson launched his gubernatorial bid in June of last year, becoming the first announced Republican to throw his hat in the ring for Mississippi’s chief executive in what is likely to be a crowded field in the 2027 statewide election cycle.
“We launched this campaign in June of 2025 and the response has been very, very positive and sometimes overwhelming,” Gipson told Magnolia Tribune in a recent interview. “People started asking for yard signs really early and I just have gone ahead and got them and give them to folks when they see me.”
Those ‘Gipson for Governor’ signs can now be seen across the Magnolia State, many in the rural areas where the current Agriculture Commissioner spends much of this time.
“There’s a lot of grassroots support out there among people all across Mississippi, from North Mississippi all the way to the Gulf Coast and points in between,” Gipson said. “I have spent the last 11 months building out that grassroots network of volunteers and supporters and now I’ve been all over the state in the last 11 months and I’m going back again this year with a little different strategy.”
Who is Andy Gipson?
Gipson has served as Mississippi’s Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce since 2018, leading the statewide Department of Agriculture. He was appointed to the position by former Governor Phil Bryant (R) after then-Agriculture Commission Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) was appointed by Bryant to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R). Gipson then ran for a full four-year term in 2019, winning the race with over 58% of the vote. He won re-election four years later with a similar vote total.
Prior to being named Agriculture Commissioner, Gipson served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for nearly a decade, winning the House seat in 2007. He is also a farmer, securities attorney, and minister.
“The most important thing to me is my faith. I believe in Jesus Christ, He is my Savior, He’s my Lord, and He is the reason I do what I do, and He’s blessed me with a great family,” Gipson said.
He and his wife have been married for 25 years come this July. The two met at Mississippi College, where Gipson graduated with a double major in Christian studies and political science. He went on to law school and became an attorney.
“I did that for 20 years, helping local businesses raise capital to expand their operations. I know what it means to work with the private sector and make good businesses stronger and better,” said Gipson. “Then as a leader in my church as a pastor, I have dealt with people in the best and worst of times. I know how to get things done.”
Why Gipson’s Running for Governor
Gipson and his wife have four children. He says they and the Lord are at the center of why he is running for governor.
“People ask me all the time why are you running for governor?” Gipson said. “I tell them, ‘I’ve got four reasons – Joseph, Benjamin, Abigail and Sarah.’ I don’t know if I’ll have grandchildren. I expect to have, but I’m doing what I do, I’m running for governor because I want Mississippi to be better for them.”
He said he feels called to run for the state’s highest office.
“I prayed about it a long time. The Lord told me to do it. So here I go, and I’ll do it to the best of my ability,” Gipson said. “We have a lot of great things that are happening in Mississippi right now, also some concerning things that are happening and I see that and I wonder how it’s going to affect my children.”
Beyond his family and his faith, Gipson believes Mississippi’s elected officials need to be better in tune with the people of the state.
“One of the reasons I’m running for governor is we have lost the connection between our state officials and the hardworking regular real people of Mississippi. I’ve seen it, I’ve watched it happen in my career and I’m sick of it,” Gipson said.
He said he has purposely stayed connected to the “real people of this state, the regular people, the hardworking folks, the blue collar workers, the single moms.”
“I know them because I’ve been their pastor and I know the issues they deal with. Not a family in Mississippi is not dealing with a health issue or budget problem and asking how are we going to afford to pay for all this? And I hear it and I know it and I understand it, and that’s going to set me apart from the competition, I believe,” Gipson said.
A Crowded Field
Governor Tate Reeves (R) is term limited, meaning the 2027 cycle will be an open seat election for the top office. Since Gipson entered the race nearly a year ago, former Speaker of the House Philip Gunn (R) has entered the mix, and there are likely at least three to five other candidates on the Republican side who will be jumping into the contest.
State Auditor Shad White (R) is all but in the race, while Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R), Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) and businessman Tommy Duff are also said to be considering a gubernatorial run. Former 3rd District Congressman Gregg Harper (R) has also been mentioned among those pondering a bid for governor.
Despite having been an announced candidate since June 2025, Gipson reported $256,000 cash on hand in his January campaign finance filing. For comparison, Gunn entered the race showing $591,000 cash on hand, while Hosemann reported $2.85 million, White $3.8 million, and Fitch $3.55 million.
While he recognizes the disparity in funds, Gipson said it will not change his approach to connecting with Mississippi voters.
“We’re raising money this year and of course, we’ll be again in 2027. I have been a grassroots campaigner and that’s what works for me, it always has,” Gipson said. “Yes, I need to raise a couple of million dollars. We made a lot of good headway this year and we’ll be getting that money in the bank in 2026. But in the meantime, I’m not going to abandon my political strategy and instincts, which is to deal directly with the people of Mississippi. I think that’s what’s missing in politics today.”
He said raising money “is a necessity,” but he intends to win at the grassroots level, with the voters of Mississippi who support him.
“I’m not relying on polls. I’m not relying on money. I’m not relying on any other strategy except the good Lord and the people of Mississippi and that is what I’ve always done. That’s the way I campaign,” Gipson said. “I can’t be bought on any particular issue and I won’t be bought because I am not that kind of politician. We’re going to raise money, but I’m really an old school campaign guy and knocking on doors and wearing out shoe leather and seeing the people of this state is what I like to do. I enjoy doing it and I’m going do it to the best of my ability.”
Separating Himself from the Field
Gipson believes his experience both in the private sector as a securities attorney and in various levels of government make him uniquely qualified to be Mississippi’s next governor.
“What separates me from this crowded field is I have a unique set of experience that nobody else has. Nobody else who’s talking about running for governor has the set of qualifications that God has allowed me to develop,” Gipson said, noting, “I don’t want to be prideful about it; it’s just a fact.”
As the state’s Agriculture Commissioner, Gipson said he has gained executive experience that has allowed him to realize there is “a big difference between deliberations and decisiveness.”
“I served in the Legislature. I sat through the deliberations. I led the charge on so many debates, hours of debates. But there is a big difference between that and actually making decisions, and there are some big decisions that need to be made for our state, for the future of this state as we look ahead,” Gipson said.
As for his time in the Legislature, Gipson said his efforts at policymaking saw him handle high profile bills, such as House Bill 1510 resulted in overturning Roe v. Wade nationwide. He also championed pro-2nd Amendment legislation that enacted Constitutional Carry.
“I led debates and handled the passage of these and other big bills. It was some of the hardest work of my life but it was worth it. I’m a fighter,” Gipson said. “I know how to pass bills. More importantly, I know how to kill a bill. I know how to kill them in a bunch of ways.”
Gipson also pointed to his experience working with the Trump administration. He supported President Trump’s efforts to roll back regulations, namely the Waters of the United States endangered species rule.
“I’ve worked closely with a bunch of federal agencies – USDA, EPA, Department of Labor, Department of Commerce,” Gipson said. “I thank God Kamala Harris did not win because I spent four years fighting back against Joe Biden and his liberal administration, filing comment letters, pushing back against regulations and in some cases, just not doing it.”
Additionally, Gipson said he has traveled the world “marketing Mississippi,” giving him international experience.
“I have international market development experience making connections all over the world to promote our state and our markets,” he said. “Nobody else can say they have all four of those levels of government experience.”
Food Security Top of Mind
Food security is one of Gipson’s primary issues he hopes will resonate with Mississippians.
“I have gained a unique perspective as Agriculture Commissioner having served in this role going on 9 years, having lived through COVID and seeing the vulnerabilities of our supply chain and our food supply, and this not only the state but this whole country,” Gipson said. “There is decisive action that needs to be taken to restore our food security, the food supply in the state of Mississippi, not only for the state but for the whole country.”
He recalled a 50 state Agriculture Commissioner conference he attended where the discussion centered on the future of food in America.
“What I heard was chilling. We have become so addicted and dependent on foreign food products that we are losing the ability to feed ourselves, and that’s where we don’t want to be,” said Gipson. “Ninety percent of our seafood’s imported when we have seafood right out the Gulf of America. Foreign food products flood our stores from south of the border and other countries, cheap foreign products that we have come to depend on for our food supplies the nation, and that has got to end.
Gipson remembered the talk given by one expert at the conference who said in 20 years the food supply of America is going to depend on the southeastern United States.
“When he said that, I leaned forward in my chair. He showed a map and said, ‘I’ll tell you why. Water.’ He showed us how California’s food supply has withered because of lack of water,” Gipson said. “They used to be the food production powerhouse of America – California did, the West did, the Midwest did. It’s all dried up. The food supply of our country will hinge on what happens in the Southeast, and Mississippi is right here in the Southeast. We have a water supply that other states don’t have – abundant rainfall, below ground aquifers, above ground reservoirs, and in the midst of a drought that we’ve been in, we can still produce because we have that water.”
Gipson want to take what is already Mississippi’s largest industry, agriculture, and double it.
“The way we do that is to bring back the processing, storage, distribution of local food products to our local stores and to our local region and country,” the commissioner said. “Last year, production in Mississippi was a $9.5 billion industry but another $10.5 billion was lost outside of our borders. They went to other countries. We ship our cotton to East Asia, where we buy it back on places like Teemu. We’re shipping our soybeans out for somebody else to buy and process. All that is to say, it would not be difficult for us to take what is already our largest industry, double it, maybe triple it, by bringing in full vertical integration for everything we grow. I believe we need to find ways to create practical applications of artificial intelligence technology to create machinery that will allow us to reshore and onshore our local processing in a very efficient way.”
Gipson envisions three local food processing hubs in Mississippi that will serve and create value for farmers as well as provide consumers with local food.
“It will position Mississippi as the leader in the food supply of America in the next decades. It needs attention and it needs it now,” he added. “My economic plan is very simple and very straightforward and I’m very convicted about it. We have got to restore our food supply and food security if we’re going to be a free people, because I have traveled this whole wide world. I’ve been to every continent on planet Earth except Antarctica to market our products to people who have lots of money and lots of technology, but they don’t have the ability to feed themselves, and we don’t ever want to get in that situation. When we become dependent on foreigners for our food, we are at risk of losing our freedom, and I will not allow that to happen as governor.”
Technology and Workforce
Gipson sees continued workforce development coupled with balancing the integration of technology as a major issue facing Mississippi’s next governor.
“I think the number one concern that I see is the workforce situation of farmers and other businesses,” he said. “Everywhere I go across the state, I ask people what’s the biggest problem you have, and the answer is we can’t get anybody to work, we can’t get anybody to do the work that has to be done.”
As governor, Gipson said he would focus much attention in this area, and “keep pushing forward” with what has been started, noting the need to focus on “a very highly skilled workforce development program.”
Gipson also has an eye on developing technologies and their impact on not only the workforce, but the useable land in Mississippi.
“Artificial intelligence, data centers, how is this going to affect Mississippi? I don’t know the answer to that, I don’t know how many jobs are going to be displaced by artificial intelligence,” Gipson said. “I know some people who are already looking for a job because their job can now be done by a computer program.”
He believes the state must be very strategic in training young people to do the jobs of the future, “the jobs that we don’t even know exist today,” that are going to be coming as result of artificial intelligence and data centers.
“I do not think Mississippi needs to become one giant data center. For us to remain Mississippi, we must preserve our core values, and one of those values is our rural way of life. I don’t want to lose that,” Gipson said. “So I think there needs to be some thoughtful discussion about the future of these data centers, how many we need, how much is enough – the same principle as these solar farms. How many solar farms do we really need? You can’t eat solar. You can’t eat data. You have to have a balance.”
He said balancing the rapid economic growth Mississippi is seeing in the technology sector with preserving “who we are as a people and our rural values and family values” is critically important.
“It’s going to be a challenge but I’m up to the challenge,” he said.
Tackling Taxes
As governor, Gipson said he would fight against any tax increase and will sign the taxpayer protection pledge to do so.
He added that he would not have signed the bill into law that raised the state’s gas tax even though it was part of the measure to phase out the state income tax.
“I would not have signed the tax increase on the fuel of the people of Mississippi. I would not have gone for a tax swap. I will not go for a tax swap,” Gipson said.
He would create a task force to revisit the state’s property tax system “to align it with our constitution, which says that it must be fair and uniform throughout the state.”
“It’s anything but fair and uniform throughout the state,” Gipson opined. “In some counties, people are doing a great job of evaluation. In others, they’re robbing the taxpayers blind. I will get our taxes lowered.”
Disaster Response and Public Safety
Gipson wants to see better coordination and faster response times to meet the needs of the people of Mississippi and the next generation.
“I have done disaster responses as Agriculture Commissioner, and I know what that looks like,” he said. “That’s something you gain as an executive leader that you don’t have without executive leadership experience.”
He said Governor Reeves has handled many disasters during his time as governor.
“I appreciate him and his leadership in that, too,” Gipson said. “But we’ve been involved in those as well, and I see what needs to be done. I see ways it could be better.”
He wants to work closely with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Transportation, and the state’s first responders to ensure faster response and better coordination, especially after what happened in North Mississippi this past January with the ice storm.
Gipson also believes there are pockets of criminal activity all over the state “where gangs and thugs have moved in.”
“I’m going to create a statewide law enforcement task force to move in swiftly with a very strong law enforcement presence and deter wrong activity, arrest the criminals and put the fear of God in the rest of them so they’ll leave and let our people live their lives in peace,” he said. “People just want to be safe in our communities and in a lot of communities in Mississippi, they’re not feeling safe right now.”
Gipson said local law enforcement needs help, “and that’s where the governor can lead in public safety, by giving direction, and I will do that on day one.”
The aim of his proposed statewide law enforcement task force would be to assist local jurisdictions in “rooting out crime and restoring public safety. ”
Working with the Legislature
Gipson believes Mississippi’s legislative system is “dysfunctional today,” and he is the guy to help fix it.
“It has not always been that way. I’ve watched it become that way,” the former House member said. “As governor, I will do what I do best and that is get people in the room and work out priorities,” Whoever the Speaker is, whoever the Lieutenant Governor is, I will meet with them in the fall of the year at a place of their choosing. We will get in that room and we’ll figure out what do you want to do, Mr. Speaker? What do you want to do, Mr. Lieutenant Governor? What does the state of Mississippi need from our perspective and we’ll find 3 or 4, maybe more, things we can get done the first week of the session so that we’re not holding other good ideas hostage.”
Gipson said that is what has been happening, good legislation has been held up over petty differences.
“It needs to stop, and I am the guy that can do,” he contended. “My style is let’s go in and figure out what our priorities are, what we can find agreement on, consensus on, and let’s celebrate that and move forward. We can fight about the rest, but we don’t need to hold hostage the good things that could be done. “
Gipson said serving as the pastor of multiple churches, working with lots of different people with lots of different ideas, “God has given me the ability to build consensus and move forward on the basis of that consensus.”
A Closing Commitment
Gipson said he is committed to changing Mississippi’s license plates if he is elected governor.
“When I’m governor, we’re going to put ‘In God We Trust’ back on the license plates. I don’t care what the lawyers say, we’re going to get that done because I passed that bill,” the commissioner said. “I got death threats at my house for that bill.”
