Delbert Hosemann

Charles Delbert Hosemann Jr. (born June 30, 1947) is the 33rd and current lieutenant governor of Mississippi, since January 2020. From 2008 to 2020, he served as the secretary of state of Mississippi.

Delbert Hosemann
33rd Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2020
Governor	Tate Reeves
Preceded by	Tate Reeves
35th Secretary of State of Mississippi
In office January 10, 2008 – January 14, 2020
Governor	Haley Barbour Phil Bryant
Preceded by	Eric Clark
Succeeded by	Michael Watson
Personal details
Born	Charles Delbert Hosemann Jr. June 30, 1947 Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	University of Notre Dame (BA) University of Mississippi (JD) New York University (LLM)

Early life

Hosemann was born in Vicksburg in western Mississippi. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1969 from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. In 1972, he earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford, Mississippi. In 1973, he obtained specialization in Taxation at New York University. Hosemann currently lives in the capital city of Jackson, where he is a partner with Phelps Dunbar LLP.[1]

Secretary of State

In the general election on November 6, 2007, Hosemann defeated Democrat Robert Smith in the race for Secretary of State.[2] In the Republican primary election on August 7, 2007, Hosemann received 54 percent of the vote, defeating former mayor of Columbus Jeffrey Rupp and State Representative Mike Lott of Petal. He took office in January 2008, succeeding Democrat Eric Clark. During the campaign, he took advantage of his unusual name in order to gain name recognition. A series of commercials showed an elderly woman talking about the good things he would do as Secretary of State, meanwhile forgetting his name as he tried to correct her. She typically used similar names such as Gilbert, Albert, Philbert, Dilbert, and Herbert. Since then, various public service messages, such as a reminder to go vote during election season, have included this format, the woman talking about the importance of voting, then mispronouncing Hosemann's name, then Hosemann correcting her and continuing the reminder.

The Mississippi Legislature had officially ratified the 13th Amendment in 1995, but the Secretary of State's office had failed to officially notify the National Archives at that time. Doctors Ranjan Batra and Ken Sullivan of the University of Mississippi Medical Center noticed the oversight in 2013 and informed Hosemann, who quickly submitted the appropriate documentation. This action made Mississippi the 36th and most-recent state to ratify the 13th Amendment.[3]

Lieutenant governor of Mississippi

Hosemann ran for lieutenant governor of Mississippi in the 2019 Mississippi general election. In the Republican primary, he defeated Shane Quick and won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.[4] In the general election, Hosemann defeated Democrat Jay Hughes, a member of Mississippi House of Representatives.

During his run for lieutenant governor, he announced his plans, which he told reporters that he wanted to increase teachers' pay, expand learning program for pre-K students, and increase funding for special needs students. He also wanted to make career and technical training more available for high school students and jobs and skills training more available for prison inmates. He supported increased infrastructure spending without new taxes, which he also opposed the statewide gas tax. He also wanted to reduce state agencies’ spending and reinvest the cut spending into education and infrastructure, and he also wanted to raise state employees’ pay.[5]

Mississippi state flag

Hosemann initially supported changing the state flag by referendum. After the killing of George Floyd, Hosemann declared his support for a new state flag and supported legislative action to retire the old state flag, which bore the Confederate battle emblem. He said ″It is time for this controversy to be resolved. I believe the flag which represents me and my grandchildren should reflect all of our citizens’ collective future, as determined by those who will live under that banner.″[6][7]

Political involvement

Hosemann was a candidate for election to the Mississippi's 4th congressional district in 1998.

After the resignation of Senator Thad Cochran in March 2018, it was speculated that Governor Bryant would name Hosemann as Cochran's successor,[8] but eventually Bryant appointed Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Cindy Hyde-Smith instead.

In 2018, at the Neshoba County Fair, Hosemann announced he would not seek re-election for Secretary of State in 2019.

In 2019, Hosemann announced his candidacy for Lt. Governor.[9]

Personal life

Hosemann is married to Lynn L. Hosemann, and together they have three children.[10]

Electoral history

Mississippi Secretary of State Republican Primary Election, 2007
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Delbert Hosemann, Jr.	102,093	53.8
Republican	Mike Lott	61,697	32.5
Republican	Jeffrey Rupp	17,838	9.4
Republican	Gene Sills	8,128	4.3

Mississippi Secretary of State Election, 2007
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Delbert Hosemann, Jr.	425,228	58.24
Democratic	Robert "Rob" Smith	304,918	41.76

Mississippi Secretary of State Republican Primary Election, 2011
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Delbert Hosemann, Jr.	231,077	83.36
Republican	Ricky Dombrowski	46,114	16.64

Mississippi Secretary of State Election, 2011
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Delbert Hosemann, Jr.	719,734	100.00

Mississippi Secretary of State Election, 2015
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Delbert Hosemann, Jr.	436,313	61.38
Democratic	Charles Graham	253,307	35.64
Reform	Randy Walker	21,165	2.98

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Election, 2019
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Delbert Hosemann, Jr.	524,757	60.0
Democratic	Jay Hughes	349,627	40.0

External links

• Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann
• Delbert Hosemann for Lieutenant Governor
• Phelps Dunbar Attorney Profile
• Appearances on C-SPAN

References

1. "Phelps Dunbar LLP: Attorney Profile". Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
2. Hosemann ready to get to work | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
3. Blum, Sam (February 18, 2013). "Mississippi ratifies 13th amendment abolishing slavery ... 147 years late". The Guardian. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
4. Amy, Jeff (July 24, 2019). "Hosemann faces Quick in GOP lieutenant governor primary". Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
5. Bologna, Giacomo (January 7, 2020). "Mississippi Legislature: Here's what Delbert Hosemann plans to do as lieutenant governor". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
6. Ganucheau, Adam (June 17, 2020). "Hosemann assures near certain death of bill that would change state flag". Mississippi Today. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
7. Bedillion, Caleb; Seid, Dennis (June 24, 2020). "Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann supports new state flag". Daily Journal. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
8. "Sen. Thad Cochran is resigning — opening up another Republican seat this November". Vox. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
9. Harrison, Bobby (January 9, 2019). "Hosemann announces bid for lieutenant governor - 'where I can make the most difference'". Mississippi Today. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
10. Delbert Hosemann | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger