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 40th state auditor of Mississippi from 1996 to 2008. Bryant was elected governor in 2011, defeating the Democratic nominee Mayor Johnny DuPree of Hattiesburg. He was re-elected in 2015, defeating Democratic nominee Robert Gray.

Early life and education Dewey Phillip Bryant was born in Moorhead in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta. He is the son of Dewey C., a diesel mechanic, and Estelle R. Bryant, a mother who stayed home with her three boys. Bryant's family moved to the capital of Jackson, where his father worked for Jackson Mack Sales1971 Jackson City Directory. and was later service manager there.

Bryant attended Council McCluer High School his junior and senior years.

Bryant studied first at Hinds Community College and received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master's degree in political science from Mississippi College in Clinton. He also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Mississippi College, where he served as an adjunct professor teaching Mississippi political history, both before and during his first term as governor.

Political career

Prior to entering government public service, Bryant was a deputy sheriff in Hinds County from 1976 to 1981; he worked undercover in drug law enforcementHarrison, Tracey M., editor. (Winter 2017). "At Home with Mississippi's First Family" Beacon. Mississippi College website Retrieved February 18, 2017. and also worked as an insurance claims investigator.1991 Jackson Suburban Directory. After his election to the Mississippi House of Representatives, Bryant served as Vice Chairman of the House Insurance Committee. Notably, he sponsored the Capital Gains Tax Cut Act of 1992.

Bryant was appointed to serve as State Auditor by Governor Kirk Fordice following the resignation of Steve Patterson. He was sworn in on November 1, 1996. Bryant was subsequently elected to a full term as auditor in 1999 and reelected in 2003. That year he convinced the Mississippi State Legislature to grant law enforcement officers in the auditor's office's investigative division full powers of arrest.

In 2007, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, defeating the Democratic Party candidate, State Representative Jamie Franks.

In 2011, Bryant was elected Governor of Mississippi, defeating the Democratic nominee Johnny DuPree.

Governor of Mississippi 2011 election

Bryant won the Republican primary in the gubernatorial election in 2011. He defeated Democratic nominee Johnny DuPree on November 8, with 60.98 percent of the vote compared to DuPree's 39.02 percent.

First term

On January 10, 2012, Bryant was sworn in as the 64th Governor of Mississippi. Once inaugurated, Bryant signed into law a bill requiring doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at local hospitals in an attempt to "end abortion in Mississippi". At the time, the state had a single abortion clinic, served only by out-of-state doctors who lacked in-state admitting privileges.

Education

In 2012, Bryant presented an education policy framework titled "Framing Mississippi's Future". During the 2013 legislative session he signed into law several bills relating to education, including the Literacy Based Promotion Act (LBPA), the Pre-K Collaborative Act, the Mississippi Charter School Act and the Mississippi Student Religious Liberties Act, as well as expanding the Mississippi Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship program and reforming school accreditation. By 2022, the LBPA in particular was credited with sparking a rapid improvement in historically poor student performance in Mississippi and was nicknamed the "Mississippi Miracle".

2015 re-election

Bryant ran for re-election in 2015, facing off against Mitch Young in the Republican primary, carrying 91.7 percent of the vote. On November 5, Bryant faced the Democratic nominee, truck driver Robert Gray, winning with 66.2 percent of the vote. Because Mississippi is one of the eight U.S. states that have a two-term lifetime limit, he was ineligible to seek a third term in the 2019 gubernatorial election.

Second term On April 5, 2016, Bryant signed HB-1523, which allows government employees and private businesses to cite religious beliefs to deny services to same-sex couples seeking a marriage license. The governor said on Twitter that HB-1523, "merely reinforces the rights which currently exist to the exercise of religious freedom as stated in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

Bryant announced on February 21, 2017, that he would make emergency budget cuts to most state agency budgets for the third time in the current fiscal year, having made similar cuts in the previous year because of the lack of projected revenue.Pender, Geoff. (February 21, 2017). "Bryant forced to make more emergency budget cuts". Clarion Ledger website Retrieved February 22, 2017.

In January 2019, Bryant said he supported a bill to expand the use of civil forfeiture (the practice of seizing the property of individuals suspected of crimes even if they are not indicted or found guilty in court) so that assets valued up to $20,000 could be seized by law enforcement without the forfeiture going before a judge.

Investigative reporting during Bryant's second term that looked into Mississippi statewide public officials' misuse of political campaign funds showed that Bryant had not made payments to himself or utilized campaign credit cards for unrelated personal spending, and since 2012 had spent $2.6 million on his campaign with almost as much left over.Mollie Bryant, Geoffrey Sender, & Kate Royals. (March 6, 2016). "Moving beyond honor system". Clarion Ledger. (Jackson). p. A14. The campaign fund was closed out with the majority of funds going to a political action committee, Imagine Mississippi PAC.Nave, R. L. (January 31, 2017) "Bryant transfers campaign funds to PAC". Mississippi Today website Retrieved February 16, 2017.

Abortion

Bryant signed a law scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2019, that would ban abortions later than six weeks of pregnancy. The Center for Reproductive Rights challenged the law. Because of his decision finding the prior less restrictive "15-week" law in the Currier case to be unconstitutional, Southern District of Mississippi Judge Carlton Reeves began his decision by referencing a prior law Bryant had signed and which Reeves had struck down in 2018. Judge Reeves wrote, "Here we go again. Mississippi has passed another law banning abortions prior to viability." He inquired, "Doesn't it boil down to six is less than fifteen?", adding that the new law "smacks of defiance to this court." Reeves noted that although there were exceptions for situations where the mother's life or health is endangered should pregnancy be taken to term, the law does not allow for exceptions in the cases of pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.Federal judge's questions point toward striking down Mississippi's latest abortion ban, "Clarion Ledger", Sarah Fowler, May 21, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.

Welfare funds investigation and defamation suit In January 2023, it was announced that Bryant was a potential target of the investigation into the Mississippi welfare funds scandal where over $77 million was misappropriated or stolen. The previous director of Mississippi's welfare agency, John Davis, who admitted to being involved and worked with authorities, was appointed by Bryant. No criminal charges were filed against Bryant and he stated that he had informed state auditor Shad White of concerns about "possible misspending of money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families antipoverty program" in 2019.

In July 2024, Bryant sued Mississippi Today, the outlet which broke the story, and its lead reporter, Anna Wolfe, alleging defamation. In May 2024, a Madison County Circuit Court judge ordered Mississippi Today to identify sources and produce information related to statements its staff made against Bryant. The outlet countered that the court order violated its constitutional rights under the First Amendment and appealed the decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Bryant's suit was dismissed in September 2025 on the grounds that Mississippi Today had engaged in constitutionally protected speech.

Post-governorship After leaving public office in 2019, Bryant became a founding member of BSS Global, a consulting firm.

In November 2025, Bryant was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to the governing board of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Electoral history

1999 Mississippi State Auditor electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant (inc.)396,24556.85DemocraticRod Nixon300,72943.15 2003 Mississippi State Auditor electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant (inc.)587,21276.31ReformBilly Blackburn182,29223.69 2007 Mississippi Lieutenant-Governor Republican primary electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant112,14057.1RepublicanCharlie Ross84,11042.9 2007 Mississippi Lieutenant-Governor electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant431,74758.57DemocraticJamie Franks Jr.305,40941.43 2011 Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant172,30059.46RepublicanDave Dennis74,54625.72RepublicanRon Williams25,5558.82RepublicanHudson Holiday13,7614.75RepublicanJames Broadwater3,6261.25 2011 Mississippi gubernatorial electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant544,85160.98DemocraticJohnny DuPree348,61739.02 2015 Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant (inc.)254,77991.84RepublicanMitch Young22,6288.16 2015 Mississippi gubernatorial electionPartyCandidateVotes%RepublicanPhil Bryant (inc.)476,69766.38DemocraticRobert Gray231,64332.25ReformShawn O'Hara9,8451.37

References

Works cited

External links Governor Phil Bryant official government website (archive)