Delbert Hosemann got the attention of Mississippi voters in his 2007 campaign for statewide office through a campaign commercial where a woman continually got his first name wrong.
That commercial opened the door to him winning three terms as secretary of state and two terms as lieutenant governor.
Now, another political candidate hopes a campaign video out 20 years later will lead to him becoming Mississippi’s next secretary of state.
Shuwaski Young has published a video where he is seen shooting a semi-automatic rifle to go along with photos of him serving in the National Guard and text that says he is a Christian and a conservative.
The video with him holding and firing guns may seem unusual for someone seeking to become the state’s chief elections officer and the overseer of 16th section lands.
However, this will be Young’s first political campaign running as a Republican after running as the Democratic nominee in previous bids for secretary of state and for Congress.
The 2023 campaign for statewide office ended when he dropped out of the race for health reasons. He lost the race for the U.S. House to Republican incumbent Michael Guest in 2022.
In those campaigns, Young made reference to working in the administration of President Barack Obama. The biography on his website for the 2027 race makes no reference to Obama. Instead, it mentions his public service under Democratic and Republican administrations.
The run as a Republican may give Young his best chance of winning his first election. The GOP secured a lock on all statewide offices after Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood lost his 2019 bid for governor.
A victory would also make him Mississippi’s first Black statewide official since the 1800s.
But GOP state Sen. Jeff Tate of Meridian has already said he is seeking the same job that Republican incumbent Michael Watson is expected to give up in a run for higher office. And others may jump into the race as well when qualifying opens next year.
Still, Young is making moves now more than a year before the party primaries. That includes a Monday evening appearance in Tupelo before the Lee County Republican Women.
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