Sounding like a candidate for Governor, Duff talks vision and opportunities for Mississippi with Lamar County Republicans

Sounding like a candidate for Governor.

Key points

• During her brief Senate campaign, Till was only able to raise $8, 500, according to campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission.
• Businessman Tommy Duff raised further speculation that he would run for Governor of Mississippi this week when he spoke at the Lamar County Republican session on Tuesday.
• In terms of campaign finances, Fitch documented a cash on hand balance of $3.55 million to end the 2025 reporting period.
• Sounding like a candidate for Governor, Duff discussions vision and opportunities for Mississippi with Lamar County Republicans.
• Duff remarked 12 years ago, former Governor Phil Bryant invited him to sit down and talk.

Sounding like a candidate for Governor, Duff discussions vision and opportunities for Mississippi with Lamar County Republicans. By: Frank Corder – October 16, 2026. Tommy Duff speaks at Lamar County Republicans, October 13, 2026.

Should businessman Tommy Duff enter the 2027 gubernatorial race in Mississippi, he would be joining a crowded Republican field that at present includes Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, former Speaker Philip Gunn, and Attorney General Lynn Fitch. State Auditor Shad White is projected to join the lot after the midterm election and Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann is additionally stated to be considering entering the fray.

Duff informed attendees that over the past year he has traveled throughout the Magnolia State to listen and learn more regarding the communities, saying he has become "more and more impressed with the state, our citizens and the opportunities that we have."

He opened his keynote remarks by telling the Republicans gathered that it was significant for them to go to the polls November 3 to re-elect U.S. Cindy Hyde-Smith and the GOP congressional delegation.

"Frankly, the only reason they will not be elected is if we don't show up, " he remarked. "If we're going to continue to advance the agenda of President Trump, we need these elected officials."

Duff went on to talk regarding the future of Mississippi and how he views what is on the horizon.

"I'm not a politician. I've been involved in business all my life, " he remarked. "I spent 42 years thinking about my family, my church and my business and that's all I was ever really involved in and liked."

Duff remarked 12 years ago, former Governor Phil Bryant invited him to sit down and talk. Bryant asked Duff to serve on the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. It duff remarked surprised him, but he agreed to serve.

For context, the businessman remarked he took an interest in the financial side of IHL, where he saw engrained bureaucracy.

"We discovered things and I learned. First, we had the University of Mississippi Medical Center. They're doing a $1.5 billion in business, 32% of their customers never pay. That's a pretty tough way to be in business, " Duff remarked. "But they didn't have a financial statement and the reason I think they didn't have a financial statement is because they were losing about $30 million a year."

Duff remarked he and the IHL Board required financial reporting, "And I can tell you today that UMMC is a prosperous hospital."

"In spite of having that kind of write off of individuals who don't pay, they are making capital. It is run correctly, and I attribute that to a Board that was aggressive and wanted to have things done right, " he continued, noting the push that followed to consolidate bond indebtedness at IHL which led to hundreds of millions in cost savings.

Duff informed the Lamar County Republicans that using commonsense approaches to administration is feasible.

His business acumen is well documented. Duff's father was a lawyer in the Pine Belt. In 1973, Ernest Duff began Southern Tire Mart as a side business.

When Tommy came to work for the business after college, it was in dire straits. But he and his brother James were able to turn it around and grow the enterprise by leaps and bounds.

Through an aggressive acquisition strategy, the brothers grew Southern Tire Mart into the largest commercial retailer of tires in North America. The pair then turned that success into a number of other business investments, including KLLM trucking, T.L. Wallace Construction, and a series of automobile dealerships.

Forbes published its updated listing of the world's billionaires in September, with the Mississippi brothers making the annual rankings once again.

In practice, the documented net worth of the two is $4.5 billion each. James and Tommy came in at No. 978 and No. 982, respectively, on the global rankings. In the U.S. Alone, the brothers rank 380 out of Forbes' top 400 richest Americans. Competing with Neighboring States.

Duff recalled recent meetings with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) where they spoke regarding school choice, business opportunities, and what their states are doing to advance economic development. Duff remarked he came away seeing that Mississippi must do more to compete with its neighbors.

"Are we doing well educationally? Yes. Are we growing our state? No, " Duff remarked. "Interesting enough, in looking at the states that surround us – Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana – we look at these states – Alabama – can say, 'Why are they prospering?'".

Duff remarked the head of J.P. Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, peppered him with questions at an event, asking why Mississippi's population is down, why the median income is what it is, and why does the state have the lowest workforce participation rate in the country. Duff remarked Dimon's questions were aimed at, "What is Mississippi and how can it grow."

"The thing that I finally told him was what's missing are opportunities for our people, " Duff remarked. "Good paychecks. We talk regarding everything from health to welfare to all these symptoms that are going on in our state, but let me tell something that I've learned being in business – a good job is notable. A good job gives you dignity. Meanwhile, a good job means that your children are proud."

He remarked a "good job" allows residents to purchase a home, care concerning their community, and even has health and life expectancy benefits, all leading to a better life.

"Those are the opportunities our state has that are interesting to me, " Duff remarked. "We can sit here and talk regarding all of the little ills, and I guess if I was at a Republican gathering I could be talking regarding all of the Republican red meat items and all the things that everybody's aware of. That's just table steaks." Putting the Pedal Down. Duff remarked Mississippi is a "great conservative state."

"We know what's right. We know what's wrong, " he remarked. "We know what the dignity of work is and we know that opportunities can come our way."

Duff complimented the work of former Governors Haley Barbour and Phil Bryant and sitting Governor Tate Reeves for their work in improving Mississippi, particularly in education, saying, "They have done a great job. They have worked hard with the resources they had."

"But it's like you and I have been driving around at 30 miles an hour, and that feels pretty good. The winds in your hair, those that have it, and you're smiling and you're happy and you're saying, 'Mississippi's doing well. We're going 30 miles an hour, '" Duff remarked. "But the difficulty is the car from Alabama's going 65 and the pickup truck in Arkansas is going 62, and we're still cruising along at 30. We think we're doing well. We are doing well – 30's a lot better than 15. But what's happening with the other states around us – it's a competitive nature out there."

Duff further remarked the next generation of leaders in Mississippi have to say where we are, even with the improvements, is not good enough.

"We've obtained to produce sure that 30 miles an hour isn't appropriate anymore. We need to be going 55 or 60 or 65 so that we catch them and surpass them. We have the opportunity here, " he remarked. "What tools do we need to do it? We have a Legislature that wants to be successful, wants our state to move forward. We have state authorities who want that but can we pull it off?"

Duff remarked his vision for the state is to continue advancements in education but focus on improving workforce development and training. Administration should take care of core functions, he stated, and Mississippi needs solid families and robust communities. State of the Governor's Race.

State Auditor Shad White is projected to join the lot after the midterm election and Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann is additionally stated to be considering entering the fray.

In terms of campaign finances, Fitch documented a cash on hand balance of $3.55 million to end the 2025 reporting period. She entered the race second in fundraising among the potential candidates for governor, according to the January 2026 reports.

Auditor White documented $3.8 million while Hosemann demonstrated $2.85 million. Gunn listed $591, 000 and Gipson documented $256, 000.

Duff's political action committee documented $1, 000 cash on hand but it is widely known that the billionaire businessman could self-fund a campaign should he decide to enter the race.

Unlike the other potential GOP candidates for governor, most of whom have run a statewide campaign, Duff's challenge will be raising his name ID and endearing himself to voters. It will take funds.

On the Democrat side, Priscilla Williams Till, cousin of Emmett Till, has confirmed a run for governor. She entered the gubernatorial race after an unsuccessful bid to be the Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. Senate this year. She came in second to Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom in the three-person Democrat Primary in March, pulling in just under 19% of the vote.

Taken together, the developments around sounding like a candidate for Governor, Duff talks vision and opportunities for point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.