Michael Watson (Mississippi politician)

American politician

Michael Watson

36th Secretary of State of Mississippi

Incumbent

Assumed office
January 9, 2020
Governor| Tate Reeves
Preceded by| Delbert Hosemann
Member of the Mississippi Senate
from the 51st district
In office
January 8, 2008 – January 7, 2020
Preceded by| Tommy Robertson
Succeeded by| Jeremy England
Personal details
Born|  (1977-12-22) December 22, 1977 (age 46)
Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.
Political party| Republican
Education| University of Mississippi (BBA, JD)

Michael D. Watson Jr. (born December 22, 1977)[1] is an American politician and the incumbent Secretary of State of Mississippi.[2] A Republican, he previously represented the 51st district in the Mississippi State Senate from 2008 to 2020.

## Career[edit]

Watson is an attorney from Pascagoula, Mississippi. He ran in the 2007 Mississippi elections for the state senate against Tommy Robertson, and won.[3] Watson considered running for governor of Mississippi in the 2015 Mississippi gubernatorial election, but opted to run for reelection instead.[4]

While in the Mississippi Senate, Watson voted against legislation that would make it easier for college students in Mississippi to vote with absentee ballots; under the legislation, students would have been allowed to use college registrars as witnesses for their absentee ballot application.[5]

In the 2019 Mississippi elections, Watson ran for Secretary of State of Mississippi.[6] He defeated Sam Britton in the Republican primary,[7] and defeated Johnny DuPree in the general election on November 5.[8] He was sworn-in to the office on January 9, 2020.[9]

In a television interview on March 26, 2021, Watson expressed concern that "woke" college students in Mississippi, among others, would vote, falsely claiming that an Executive Order by President Biden on March 6, 2021, would automatically register people to vote.[10][5] Watson also falsely claimed that people would be sneakily registered without their knowledge.[5]

After considering challenging Tate Reeves in the 2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election,[11] Watson elected instead to run for reelection.[12]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Candidate - Michael D. Watson". Our Campaigns. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
2. ^ "Michael Watson (Mississippi)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
3. ^ "State losing vocal leaders in senate - Picayune Item". December 26, 2007.
4. ^ Pender, Geoff (February 26, 2015). "Watson running for re-election, not higher office". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
5. ^ a b c "Mississippi Elections Chief Warns Biden May Register 'Woke,' 'Uninformed' College Voters". Mississippi Free Press. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
6. ^ "Sen. Michael Watson plans run for secretary of state". Clarionledger.com. August 3, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
7. ^ "Mississippi Secretary of State race: Watson, DuPree win primaries". Clarionledger.com. August 6, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
8. ^ "The Latest: Maxwell wins Public Service Commission seat | State". mdjonline.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
9. ^ Pettus, Emily Wagster (January 10, 2020). "7 of 8 statewide officials inaugurated". The Greenwood Commonwealth. Associated Press. pp. 1, 12.
10. ^ "SOS Michael Watson under fire for voter registration comments made on WLOX". WLOX. April 9, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
11. ^ Journal, TAYLOR VANCE Daily. "Secretary of State Michael Watson mulls move to oust Gov. Tate Reeves". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
12. ^ "Secretary of State Michael Watson announces 2023 run for reelection". Clarionledger.com. January 19, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Profile at Vote Smart

Party political offices

Preceded by

Delbert Hosemann

|  Republican nominee for Secretary of State of Mississippi
2019, 2023  | Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by

Delbert Hosemann

|  Secretary of State of Mississippi
2020–present  | Incumbent

* v
* t
* e

Statewide political officials of Mississippi

U.S. senators|

* Roger Wicker
* Cindy Hyde-Smith

State government|

* Tate Reeves, Governor
* Delbert Hosemann, Lieutenant Governor
* Michael Watson, Secretary of State
* Lynn Fitch, Attorney General
* David McRae, Treasurer
* Shad White, State Auditor
* Andy Gipson, Agriculture Commissioner
* Mike Chaney, Insurance Commissioner

Senate|

* Delbert Hosemann, President
* Dean Kirby, President pro tempore
* Derrick Simmons, Minority Leader

House|

* Jason White, Speaker
* Manly Barton, Speaker pro tempore
* Robert Johnson III, Minority Leader

Supreme Court|

* Michael K. Randolph, Chief Justice
* James W. Kitchens, Presiding Justices
* Leslie D. King
* Josiah D. Coleman
* James D. Maxwell II
* Dawn H. Beam
* Robert P. Chamberlin
* David M. Ishee
* T. Kenneth Griffis Jr., Associate Justices

* v
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* e

Secretaries of state in the United States

▌Wes Allen (R)

▌Nancy Dahlstrom (R)

▌Adrian Fontes (D)

▌John Thurston (R)

▌Shirley Weber (D)

▌Jena Griswold (D)

▌Stephanie Thomas (D)

▌Jeffrey Bullock (D)

▌Cord Byrd (R)

▌Brad Raffensperger (R)

▌Sylvia Luke (D)

▌Phil McGrane (R)

▌Alexi Giannoulias (D)

▌Diego Morales (R)

▌Paul Pate (R)

▌Scott Schwab (R)

▌Michael Adams (R)

▌Nancy Landry (R)

▌Shenna Bellows (D)

▌Susan C. Lee (D)

▌Bill Galvin (D)

▌Jocelyn Benson (D)

▌Steve Simon (DFL)

▌Michael Watson (R)

▌Jay Ashcroft (R)

▌Christi Jacobsen (R)

▌Bob Evnen (R)

▌Cisco Aguilar (D)

▌David Scanlan (R)

▌Tahesha Way (D)

▌Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D)

▌Robert J. Rodriguez (D)

▌Elaine Marshall (D)

▌Michael Howe (R)

▌Frank LaRose (R)

▌Josh Cockroft (R)

▌LaVonne Griffin-Valade (D)

▌Al Schmidt (R)

▌Gregg Amore (D)

▌Mark Hammond (R)

▌Monae Johnson (R)

▌Tre Hargett (R)

▌Jane Nelson (R)

▌Deidre Henderson (R)

▌Sarah Copeland-Hanzas (D)

▌Kelly Gee* (R)

▌Steve Hobbs (D)

▌Mac Warner (R)

▌Sarah Godlewski (D)

▌Chuck Gray (R)

Federal districts:

▌Kimberly Bassett (D)

Territories:

▌Salo Ale (D)

▌Josh Tenorio (D)

▌Dave Apatang (I)

▌Omar Marrero (PNP)

▌Tregenza Roach (D)

Political party affiliations
28 ▌Republican (28 states)
26 ▌Democratic (22 states, 3 territories, 1 district)
1 ▌Independent (1 territory)
1 ▌New Progressive (1 territory)
Italics indicate no secretary of state in this state, closest equivalent listed
An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity.

* v
* t
* e

Secretaries of State of Mississippi

Secretary of Territory (1798-1816)|

* Steele
* West
* T. Williams
* Mead
* T. Williams
* Dangerfield
* Ware

Secretary of State (since 1817)|

* D. Williams
* Grimball
* D. C. Dickson
* Benson
* Woodward
* Galloway
* Hemingway
* Stamps
* Bell
* Horne
* Muse
* Dilworth
* Webb
* Brougher
* Warner
* Musgrove
* Lynch
* Revels
* Carter
* McLeod
* Carter
* Hill
* Falconer
* Porter
* Myers
* Govan
* J. L. Power
* J. W. Power
* Wood
* Ladner
* Pittman
* Molpus
* Clark
* Hosemann
* Watson

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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template