Will rumors of Gunn gubernatorial run change MS House dynamics for next two years? [View all]

Talk of a possible Speaker Gunn for Governor campaign raises eyebrows with some House Republicans.


Rank and file members of the Mississippi House, along with their fellow Mississippians, have been watching from afar as the political back-and-forth has publicly boiled over the last two years between Speaker Philip Gunn and Governor Tate Reeves. While there is still a thin public veneer of civility, episodically, tensions have escalated to the point where both Republicans seem to wield their influence in tit-for-tat political skirmishes.

Speaker Gunn’s attempts to politically outflank Governor Reeves with the Republican base has fueled open speculation that he may jump in the 2023 gubernatorial Republican primary against Reeves. As Daily Journal Executive Editor Sam Hall wrote in his Op-Ed on Sunday, Gunn is sending some not so subtle hints that he is at least considering a primary challenge of Reeves.

In an off-session statewide speaking tour couched as selling his income tax elimination plan, Gunn has denied it. On several occasions, he’s answered the question head on by saying, “Right now, I’m only running for Speaker of the House,” or some other variation thereof. Yet, the speculation increases by the day. When asked for comment for this piece, Gunn did not respond.

Now the question is: What will even the speculation of a gubernatorial “loser leave town” primary between Gunn and Reeves do to the political dynamics over the last two legislative sessions of this term?

Read more: https://yallpolitics.com/2021/06/25/corder-will-rumors-of-gunn-gubernatorial-run-change-ms-house-dynamics-for-next-two-years/