Bryant was born in Moorhead in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta. He is the son of Dewey C., a diesel mechanic,[3] and Estelle R. Bryant, a mother who stayed home with her three boys. Bryant's family moved to the capital of Jackson, where his father worked for Jackson Mack Sales[4] and was later Service Manager there.
Bryant studied first at Hinds Community College and received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master's degree in political science from Mississippi College in Clinton. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Mississippi College, where he served as an adjunct professor teaching Mississippi political history, both before and during his first term as governor.
Political career
Bryant speaking with a constituent, 2008
Prior to entering government public service, Bryant was a deputy sheriff in Hinds County from 1976 to 1981; he worked undercover in drug law enforcement[5] and also worked as an insurance claims investigator.[6] After his election to the Mississippi House of Representatives, Bryant served as Vice Chairman of the House Insurance Committee. Notably, he sponsored the Capital Gains Tax Cut Act of 1992.
Bryant was appointed to serve as State Auditor by Governor Kirk Fordice following the resignation of Steve Patterson. He was sworn in on November 1, 1996. Bryant was subsequently elected to a full term as auditor in 1999 and reelected in 2003.[7] That year he convinced the Mississippi State Legislature to grant law enforcement officers in the auditor's office's investigative division full powers of arrest.[8]
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Bryant won the Republican primary in the gubernatorial election in 2011. He defeated Democratic nominee Johnny DuPree on November 8, with 60.98 percent of the vote compared to DuPree's 39.2 percent.[10]
First term
On January 10, 2012, Bryant was sworn in as the 64th Governor of Mississippi. Former Republican State Chairman Jim Herring, a lawyer from Canton, headed the transition team.[11] Once inaugurated, Bryant signed into law a bill requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at local hospitals in an attempt to "end abortion in Mississippi". At the time, the state had a single abortion clinic, served only by out-of-state doctors who lacked in-state admitting privileges.[12]
2015 re-election
Bryant speaking at the Louisiana Republican Party "Geaux Vote" rally in December 2016
Governor Bryant ran for re-election in 2015, facing off against Mitch Young in the Republican primary, carrying 91.7 percent of the vote.[13] On November 5, Bryant faced the Democratic nominee, truck driver Robert Gray, winning with 66.6 percent of the vote.[14] Because Mississippi is one of the eight U.S. states that have a two-term lifetime limit, he was ineligible to seek a third term in the 2019 gubernatorial election.
Second term
In 2015, Phil Bryant refused to support legislation to change the flag of Mississippi to remove the Confederate battle saltire, even though some members of his party, such as House SpeakerPhilip Gunn, publicly said the flag needed to change so that it could represent all Mississippians. Bryant took the position that voters should make the decision on the state flag.[citation needed]
On April 5, 2016, Bryant signed House Bill 1523, the HB-1523, which allows government employees and private businesses to cite religious beliefs to deny services to same-sex couples seeking a marriage license.[15] The governor said on Twitter that HB-1523, "merely reinforces the rights which currently exist to the exercise of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."[16]
Bryant announced on February 21, 2017, that he would make emergency budget cuts to most state agency budgets for the third time in the current fiscal year, having made similar cuts in the previous year because of the lack of projected revenue.[17]
Bryant signed a law scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2019, that would ban abortions later than six weeks of pregnancy. The Center for Reproductive Rights in Jackson challenged the law. Because of his decision finding the prior less restrictive "15-week" law in the Currier case to be unconstitutional, Southern District of Mississippi Judge Carlton Reeves began his decision by referencing a prior law Bryant had signed and which Reeves had struck down in 2018. Judge Reeves wrote, "Here we go again. Mississippi has passed another law banning abortions prior to viability."[18] He inquired, "Doesn't it boil down to six is less than fifteen?", adding that the new law "smacks of defiance to this court." Reeves noted that although there were exceptions for situations where the mother's life or health is endangered should pregnancy be taken to term, the law does not allow for exceptions in the cases of pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.[19]
In January 2019, Bryant said he supported a bill to expand the use of civil forfeiture (the practice of seizing the property of individuals suspected of crimes even if they are not indicted or found guilty in court) so that assets valued up to $20,000 could be seized by law enforcement without the forfeiture going before a judge.[20][21] Under the bill, if the owner of the assets does not contest the forfeiture, the owner loses all right to it, and could not contest it before a judge. Nick Sibilla of the Institute for Justice notes that almost half of all asset seizures are valued at under $1,000, yet the filing fees associated with contesting a forfeiture can cost upwards of $1,500, and that fees associated with hiring an attorney add to the financial burden of the owner.[22]
Investigative reporting during Bryant's second term that looked into Mississippi statewide public officials' misuse of political campaign funds showed that Bryant had not made payments to himself or utilized campaign credit cards for unrelated personal spending, and since 2012 had spent $2.6 million on his campaign with almost as much left over.[23] The campaign fund was closed out with the majority of funds going to a political action committee, Imagine Mississippi PAC.[24]
Welfare Funds Scandal
In January 2023, it was announced that Phil Bryant was a potential target in the ongoing Mississippi welfare funds scandal where over $77 million funds were misappropriated or stolen. The previous director of Mississippi's welfare agency, John Davis, who admitted to being involved and is currently working with authorities, was appointed by Phil Bryant. An attorney said, “John Davis knows of the extent of personal involvement of former Governor Bryant and Governor (Tate) Reeves and the massive waste of taxpayer money,” but said that Davis was under direction from the FBI to remain silent. The investigation into Bryant's culpability and involvement is ongoing.[25] Bryant subsequently sued Mississippi Today, the outlet which broke the story, and its lead reporter, Anna Wolfe, alleging defamation.[26] In May 2024, a Madison County Circuit Court judge ordered Mississippi Today to identify sources and produce information related to statements its staff made against former Governor Phil Bryant. The outlet countered that the court order violates its constitutional rights under the First Amendment. It has appealed the decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court.[27]
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