James Andrew Gipson (born December 21, 1976) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician. He is the current Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. A member of the Republican Party, Gipson served as a member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

from the 77th District from 2008 until his appointment as Agriculture Commissioner in 2018. Gipson is special counsel in the law firm of Jones Walker LLP's banking and financial services practice group in Jackson.

State Representative 2008-2018

In the Mississippi House, Gipson has championed bills to allow guns to be carried in more places, such as on university campuses, and to more easily sue government agencies for gun bans or other policies believed to violate gun rights legislation. Gipson's legislation was opposed by state university officials and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC), which Gipson suggested was "evidence of the 'deep state' manipulating and working against the people."

Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner

On March 30, 2018, Governor

Phil Bryant Dewey Phillip Bryant (born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 31st lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 2008 to 2012 and 4 ...

announced that he would appoint Gipson to the office of Mississippi Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner, succeeding

Cindy Hyde-Smith Cindy Hyde-Smith (née Hyde; born May 10, 1959) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Mississippi since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture a ...

, who was appointed by Bryant to serve in the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy left by

Thad Cochran William Thad Cochran (; December 7, 1937 – May 30, 2019) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator for Mississippi from 1978 until his resignation due to health issues in 2018. A Republican, he previously s ...

. He was sworn in on April 2 to complete Hyde-Smith's uncompleted term.

2019 General Election

With 845,529 votes cast on the ballot for the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Gipson easily defended his seat with a 59% to 41% win. Mississippi has a nearly $9 billion industry in Agriculture and Commerce. In Gipson's acceptance speech he announced his office will focus on workforce development among teens.

References

, - 1976 births 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Mississippi Commissioners of Agriculture and Commerce People from Flowood, Mississippi {{Mississippi-politician-stub