Phil Bryant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Phil Bryant
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| 64th Governor of Mississippi | |
| In office January 10, 2012 – January 14, 2020 |
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| Lieutenant | Tate Reeves |
| Preceded by | Haley Barbour |
| Succeeded by | Tate Reeves |
| 31st Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi | |
| In office January 10, 2008 – January 10, 2012 |
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| Governor | Haley Barbour |
| Preceded by | Amy Tuck |
| Succeeded by | Tate Reeves |
| 40th Auditor of Mississippi | |
| In office November 1996 – January 10, 2008 |
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| Governor | Kirk Fordice Ronnie Musgrove Haley Barbour |
| Preceded by | Steve Patterson |
| Succeeded by | Stacey Pickering |
| Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from Hinds County |
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| In office 1991–1996 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Dewey Phillip Bryant
December 9, 1954 Moorhead, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Deborah Hays
(m. 1976) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Hinds Community College University of Southern Mississippi (BA) Mississippi College (MA) |
Dewey Phillip Bryant, born on December 9, 1954, is an American politician. He served as the 64th governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before becoming governor, he was the 31st lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 2008 to 2012. He also served as the 40th state auditor of Mississippi from 1996 to 2008.
Bryant was first elected governor in 2011. He won against the Democratic candidate, Mayor Johnny DuPree. He was re-elected in 2015, defeating Robert Gray.
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Early Life and Education
Bryant was born in Moorhead, a town in Sunflower County. His father, Dewey C., was a diesel mechanic. His mother, Estelle R., stayed home to care for their three sons. Later, Bryant's family moved to Jackson, the capital of Mississippi. There, his father worked as a service manager.
Bryant attended Council McCluer High School for his junior and senior years. He started his college studies at Hinds Community College. He then earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Southern Mississippi. He also received a master's degree in political science from Mississippi College in Clinton. Mississippi College also gave him an honorary doctorate degree. He taught Mississippi political history there before and during his first term as governor.
Political Career
Before working in government, Bryant was a deputy sheriff in Hinds County from 1976 to 1981. He worked on drug law enforcement cases. He also worked as an insurance claims investigator.
After being elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, Bryant became the Vice Chairman of the House Insurance Committee. He helped create the Capital Gains Tax Cut Act in 1992.
State Auditor
Governor Kirk Fordice chose Bryant to be the State Auditor in 1996. He was sworn into this role on November 1, 1996. Bryant was then elected to a full term as auditor in 1999 and again in 2003. In 2003, he helped pass a law that gave law enforcement officers in the auditor's office the power to make arrests.
Lieutenant Governor
In 2007, Bryant was elected Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi. He won against the Democratic candidate, State Representative Jamie Franks.
Governor
In 2011, Bryant was elected Governor of Mississippi. He won against the Democratic candidate, Johnny DuPree. After leaving public office in 2019, Bryant became a founder of BSS Global, a consulting firm.
Governor of Mississippi
2011 Election
Bryant won the Republican primary election for governor in 2011. On November 8, he defeated Democratic candidate Johnny DuPree. Bryant received 60.98 percent of the votes.
First Term as Governor
On January 10, 2012, Phil Bryant became the 64th Governor of Mississippi. He signed a bill into law that required doctors at certain health clinics to have special permissions at local hospitals.
2015 Re-election
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Governor Bryant ran for re-election in 2015. He won the Republican primary with 91.7 percent of the vote. On November 5, he faced Democratic candidate Robert Gray. Bryant won with 66.6 percent of the votes. Mississippi has a rule that a governor can only serve two terms. Because of this, he could not run for a third term in 2019.
Second Term as Governor
In 2015, Phil Bryant did not support changing the flag of Mississippi. Some people in his party wanted to change the flag so it would represent all Mississippians. Bryant believed that voters should make the decision about the state flag.
On April 5, 2016, Bryant signed House Bill 1523, also known as the HB-1523. This law allowed government workers and private businesses to use their religious beliefs to refuse certain services. Bryant stated that this law supported religious freedom.
In February 2017, Bryant announced that he would make emergency budget cuts. This was the third time he had to cut state agency budgets that year. These cuts were needed because the state did not have as much money as expected.
Bryant signed a law that would ban certain medical procedures after six weeks of pregnancy. A court challenged this law. A judge noted that this new law was similar to an earlier law Bryant had signed, which the court had also found unconstitutional. The judge pointed out that the new law did not allow exceptions for all difficult situations.
In January 2019, Bryant supported a bill to expand the use of civil forfeiture. This practice allows law enforcement to take property from people suspected of crimes. Under the bill, property worth up to $20,000 could be taken without a judge's approval if the owner did not challenge it.
During Bryant's second term, reports looked into how public officials used campaign money. It was found that Bryant had not used campaign funds for personal spending. His campaign fund was closed, and most of the money went to a political action committee called Imagine Mississippi PAC.
Welfare Funds Investigation
In January 2023, it was announced that Phil Bryant was a person of interest in an ongoing investigation. This investigation is looking into over $77 million in welfare funds that were misused or stolen. The former director of Mississippi's welfare agency, John Davis, was appointed by Phil Bryant. Davis admitted his involvement and is working with authorities. An attorney stated that John Davis knows about the involvement of former Governor Bryant and Governor Tate Reeves in the misuse of taxpayer money. The investigation into Bryant's role is still ongoing.
Images for kids
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Phil Bryant
See also
In Spanish: Phil Bryant para niños
