Michael Watson (Mississippi politician)

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.

Michael Watson
36th Secretary of State of Mississippi
Assumed office
January 9, 2020
GovernorTate Reeves
Preceded byDelbert Hosemann
Member of the Mississippi Senate
from the 51st district
In office
January 8, 2008 – January 7, 2020
Preceded byTommy Robertson
Succeeded byJeremy England
Personal details
Born (1977-12-22) December 22, 1977
Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Mississippi (BBA, JD)

Career

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
  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. "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.
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