The Issues: Governor’s Race

“Tate Reeves has underfunded our public schools for too long and has shown disrespect toward our hardworking public school teachers. Every community in Mississippi hurts when we don’t have a quality public school system. That needs to change. As a product of a Mississippi public school myself and a father of three of the same, I strongly support public schools, public school teachers, and public school students. We must implement statewide pre-k, fully fund MAEP, raise the teacher salary to at least the Southeastern average, and provide workforce training and tuition assistance to community college students.”

Read more about Hood’s K-12 education plan.

“It should not matter what zip code you live in or how rich your parents are, every child deserves an equal opportunity for success. That’s why I pushed for letter grades for our schools, public charter schools, and parental choice in education to provide more options for kids that have been trapped in failing school districts. It’s why I supported performance pay for teachers in schools that improve and led the charge on improving teacher pay by at least $8,000 since I was elected. And it’s why I just announced my plan to increase teacher pay to the southeastern average.”

“I’m firmly pro-life.”

Read our coverage of Hood’s defense of the state’s 6-week abortion ban.

“Abortion is the greatest evil of our time, and it’s not good enough to say that it is not our job to protect those babies. We need to be proactive. That’s why I helped pass Mississippi’s Heartbeat Bill to protect the innocent unborn from abortion as soon as a heartbeat is detected. I am 100% pro-life, and I believe it is our responsibility to defend the innocent unborn. I am honored to have received endorsements from Mississippi Right to Life and National Right to Life. As Governor, I’ll continue to stand up for the unborn and protect them.”

“We must accept the billion dollars that the federal government offers us every year to keep our rural hospitals open and provide healthcare to over 300,000 working Mississippians.”

“I remain committed to improving access to quality healthcare so every Mississippian has a hospital they can depend on, in a drive they can make. Recently at an event with the Mississippi State Medical Association where they endorsed my run for Governor, I announced my healthcare plan to increase the number of residencies in rural areas, provide more scholarships for those who commit to practicing medicine in Mississippi, utilize telemedicine more effectively, and encourage private-sector participation in the financing of our healthcare structure. As Governor, I will continue fighting to expand access to quality healthcare for everyone across our state.”

“A flag should unite us, not divide us. However, right now, we need to focus on the issues of education, roads and bridges, health care, and cleaning up the government.”

“The people of Mississippi overwhelmingly voted to keep our flag in 2001. I oppose unilateral action by the governor or the Legislature or any other backroom deal by politicians in Jackson to change it. If Mississippians ever decide we should change our flag, it should only be done by a vote of the people.”

“We can help reduce incarceration and state costs by instituting some commonsense criminal justice reforms, such as changes to sentencing lengths for non-violent offenders, which disproportionately affects the black male population. Additionally, we should allow non-violent formerly incarcerated individuals to have the right to vote after they serve their debt to society.”

“Prisons were not meant to be revolving doors. People reoffend when they are not equipped with the skills or provided the opportunities to succeed. As Lieutenant Governor, I have pushed for criminal justice reform to make it less likely that a person leaving prison will commit another crime and can reenter society as a contributing member who can provide for their family. I am committed to ensuring that all correctional facilities meet federal and state standards and help rehabilitate people to become productive members who can take care of their families and contribute to their communities.”