MISSISSIPPI DEMOCRATIC PARTY COMMENDS LEGISLATIVE CHAMPIONS AS 2026 SESSION CLOSES
Democrats Fought for Mississippi Families. Reeves Fought Against Them.
JACKSON, Miss. — As the Mississippi Legislature adjourns the 2026 regular session, the Mississippi Democratic Party today commends every member of the House and Senate Democratic caucuses for their tireless work on behalf of Mississippi families. This session, Democratic legislators showed up informed, organized, and ready to fight.
The final day of the House session made that clear. Members voted 111-0 and 110-0 to override Governor Tate Reeves’ vetoes of a Gulf Coast revolving loan program and critical opioid recovery funding, programs Reeves had stripped from appropriations bills despite broad, bipartisan support. Those victories are a testament to Democratic legislators who refused to let Mississippians lose programs their communities depend on because the governor decided to reach for his veto pen.
Rep. Jeffrey Hulum of Gulfport and Rep. Omeria Scott of Laurel led those charges with distinction. Rep. Hulum took to the floor to make the human case for restoring opioid funding, framing the override as a question of dignity for the elderly, veterans, and Mississippi families depending on programs the governor had cut. Rep. Scott engaged in a sustained floor exchange that methodically dismantled the governor’s stated rationale for his vetoes, establishing clearly and on the record that the accountability structures Reeves claimed were absent were written plainly into the bill all along. The overrides were unanimous. The governor was wrong, and the Legislature said so with one voice.
In the Senate, the fight was equally urgent and the stakes were even higher. Senate Public Health and Welfare Chairman Hob Bryan of Amory authored SB 2477, legislation that would have placed commonsense legislative oversight on the spending of nearly $1 billion in federal funds Mississippi is set to receive through the Rural Health Transformation Program. Bryan raised pointed concerns that the process was being conducted in secret, with no transparency, and that Mississippians deserved to know how those funds would be spent and who would benefit.
Governor Reeves vetoed the bill and attempted to use Senator Bryan’s name and party affiliation as justification, even though the content of the bill that reached his desk had been entirely rewritten by a Republican House committee chairman. The governor singled out Bryan personally on social media. But the bill had passed the Senate unanimously and cleared the House with only five opposing votes. This was not a partisan fight. This was about accountability, and the governor was on the wrong side of it.
Senator Bryan went on the air to raise concerns about how Reeves had handled rural hospital funding in the Delta, warning that without oversight, Mississippians had no assurance that the funds would reach the rural communities that need them most. The veto stands. But because of Senator Bryan’s advocacy, the public record is clear, and Mississippians know exactly who chose secrecy over transparency when their rural hospitals needed a lifeline.
Governor Reeves has made a habit this session of reaching for his veto pen against legislation that passed with overwhelming, bipartisan support. Time and again, Mississippi Democrats offered a check on that impulse, made the case on the floor, and held the line for the people they serve. That is what this caucus is built to do.
“This session, Mississippi Democrats went to work for every family in this state, and they did not back down,” said Mikel Bolden, Executive Director of the Mississippi Democratic Party. “Rep. Hulum, Rep. Scott, and Senator Bryan went to the floor and made their case with facts, with passion, and with principle. They brought colleagues with them, they won overrides that matter to real Mississippians, and they made sure the public understood the cost of the governor’s choices. We are proud of the entire caucus for the fight they brought this session.”
“Governor Reeves vetoed programs for opioid recovery, for rural health, and for Gulf Coast communities, and he did it against the will of legislators from both parties,” said Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor. “Senator Bryan, Rep. Hulum, Rep. Scott, and every Democrat in that building stood up and said enough. Because of their work, Mississippians know what was taken from them and who made that call. We go into the interim with our heads held high and our eyes on 2027.”
The Mississippi Democratic Party thanks all members of the House and Senate Democratic caucuses for their service during the 2026 regular session and pledges to continue fighting alongside them for the health, safety, and opportunity of every Mississippian in every county.
###
The Mississippi Democratic Party is the official state affiliate of the Democratic National Committee, committed to building a stronger, fairer Mississippi for every family in every corner of the state.
