J. P. "Jay" Hughes Jr. (born August 28, 1963) is an American politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he was 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 12th District for four years, being first elected in 2015.

Career

Hughes was born in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in Business and Economics at

Nicholls State University Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nicholl ...

Thibodaux, Louisiana Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal city ...

. Hughes is a 1991 graduate of the

University of Mississippi School of Law The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The School of Law offers the only dedicated aerospace law curr ...

, and a practicing attorney in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Oxf ...

. Hughes served in the US Army from 1981-1984 and served in the Army Reserves from 1984-1988. He is an expert marksman and served at Ft. Jackson in South Carolina, Ft. Gordon in Georgia and Ft. Hood in Texas, as well as temporary duty in Michigan, England, France and Germany. In 2013, Hughes began his political career when he was elected to Alderman of Ward 1 of

, defeating Ney Williams. Hughes campaigned on issues of streamlined decision making for the Oxford Board of Aldermen, responsible growth, and better partnerships between the City of Oxford and

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. Hughes was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives on November 3, 2015 when he defeated Republican Brad Mayo with 55.1% of the vote. Hughes donated his Alderman and Legislative session salaries to his local school districts and also volunteers as a substitute teacher in order to learn more about the troubles and issues public school teachers and students face. He and his wife were jointly awarded 2012 Oxford School District Citizen of the Year. On May 3, 2018 Hughes announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor in 2019. He lost to the Republican challenger.

2016 legislative session

Hughes served on Judiciary A; Judiciary En Banc; Medicaid; Accountability, Efficiency & Transparency; and Constitution committees. The House introduced 1,789 bills, and 376 became law. Hughes supported the maintenance of state roads and bridges, and a campaign finance and ethics reform measure.

2017 legislative session

Hughes again served on Judiciary A; Judiciary En Banc; Medicaid; Accountability, Efficiency & Transparency; and Constitution committees.

References

External links

Jay Hughes Jr.
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Jay Hughes
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, J.P. Jr. 1963 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Nicholls State University alumni University of Mississippi School of Law alumni People from Oxford, Mississippi Politicians from Houston