• Mississippi state leaders are preparing for the 2027 governor’s race by outlining their legislative priorities.
• Redistricting legislative and congressional maps is a top priority for the upcoming legislative session.
• Lawmakers are divided on education reform, with some favoring school choice and others focusing on public school funding.
• Republican leaders agree on the need to reduce the size of state government, though they propose different methods.

PHILADELPHIA — When asked about his campaign plans for the statewide elections in November 2027, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has avoided giving a straight answer. Usually, he tells the media that his next focus is a long checklist of priorities to tackle next legislative session.

The governor’s race next year, the first this decade without term-limited incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves, is rumored to feature a crowded field. For current officeholders, even those who don’t work directly with the state Legislature, the bills that they can endorse and urge across the finish line are often the feathers in their cap touted on the campaign trail.

During the two days of political speaking at the Neshoba County Fair, Hosemann and other state leaders gave attendees a clearer view of what their goals are for those 60 days of debate.

Redistricting

One of the priorities common to most speakers was legislative and congressional redistricting in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that prohibited drawing voting districts on the basis of race. Reeves initially called a special session on redistricting, specifically regarding the state Supreme Court districts, but he later canceled it.

The governor opted to cancel the session, he said, because Mississippi had already had its primary. Instead, he charged Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, the leaders of each chamber, with navigating the process during the next legislative session.

Through their redistricting committees, both said at the Neshoba County Fair, they are preparing to do exactly that.

“The Democrats used [prior Supreme Court rulings] to make sure they elected Democrats and not the people that you wanted. Now the Supreme Court has changed that, and we’re back to ground one where we should be,” Hosemann said. “We’ve appointed a committee, they’ll be out in Mississippi … looking at who do you want to represent you and how is your district to be set up? It’s coming back to the people where it was before, where it should be today.”

Mississippi Rep. Scott Bounds and Sen. Lane Taylor, both of whom represent the Neshoba County area, are on their respective redistricting committees. Both promised that redistricting is among the first issues that the Legislature plans to take up in January, with Bounds adding that the focus is on redrawing the state legislative districts.

“I believe the best way to enact common sense, conservative policies is by electing Republicans to office,” Jason White said. “The Mississippi House of Representatives stands for that, and we will examine redistricting and elect more Republicans to local, state and federal offices.”

Reeves confirmed that he “would not be surprised” if there is a special session before the next legislative session begins in January, but that even without it, the Legislature “would definitely have redistricting done” before the statewide elections in November 2027. Reeves has the power to call a special session at any point.

K-12 and higher education

Hosemann and White took, if not opposite perspectives, then at least different approaches to improving the state’s public and higher education systems.

White’s primary focus, he said in his speech, lays again with school choice. He told the crowd that, while lawmakers were still drafting legislation, Mississippians could expect to see a similar attempt this upcoming year as representatives put forward in January.

“I think you’ll see most statewide candidates for governor fully endorsing the idea of school choice and pushing it forward. I think the reason they will do that is because they’re smart, they’ve been polling, they’re spending their money to see what issues are important to people,” White said after giving his speech. “They’re finding out that when you get outside of the room and have a real conversation with parents, they want those choices.”

The 500-page, sweeping bill from last year primarily proposed using state money to fund vouchers for students to attend private and charter schools. It passed the House, where it originated, in a narrow vote before getting a resounding “no” vote in the Senate education committee.

“I wish the Senate would come forward and say, ‘Look, we don’t want to go through all that again. Here’s what we would do,’” White said. “I wish there would be a way to find a win-win, but to this point, they’ve been unwilling to have a conversation. That makes it tough politics for me when they’re unwilling to even have a conversation.”

Hosemann has loudly opposed state-funded vouchers, and he took the dais to advocate for more funding in public schools. One of his education priorities for the next year, he told the crowd, was opening more special-purpose schools for children with disabilities and developmental disorders such as autism.

Where Hosemann and White have agreed is that Mississippi’s education systems are bloated. Hosemann spoke specifically about higher education, telling reporters after his speech that some institutions graduate fewer than 25% of their enrollment. He touted the benefits of performance-based funding in ensuring that schools are motivated to educate high-performing students, and Mississippians could likely see changes to the funding formula in 2027.

White has largely focused, for the moment, on K-12 public schools. He formed a committee on school consolidation that has zeroed in on small schools and districts, and top officials with the state education department have asked for the Legislature to draft a framework for closing schools in the coming years.

How big should the government be?

Maybe the only thing that every Republican speaker agreed on was that Mississippi’s government needs to be smaller, but they phrased reform in different ways.

Reeves promoted artificial intelligence that makes workflows more efficient and decreases the number of state employees needed to do a certain job. White urged the government to decrease property taxes, because the burden makes property owners “feel like they rent the property that they own.”

More from day 1: What did U.S. Senate candidates say at Neshoba County Fair?

Hosemann pointed to a Senate committee on efficiency and transparency that has moved to eliminate 17 government committees and boards he described as useless. White formed a similar special committee on government efficiency that has met over the summer to weigh cost-cutting measures.

While details on which departments could be downsized and precise estimates of potential savings have not been publicly outlined, nearly every state official, member of the Legislature and candidate who spoke at the Neshoba County Fair promised significant reform next session.

Bea Anhuci is the state government reporter for the Clarion Ledger. She has covered Mississippi politics since the start of 2026. Email her at banhuci@usatodayco.com.

North Carolina and NC State, scheduled to meet just once in the men’s basketball regular season for the second consecutive season, are working to schedule a nonconference meeting in Greensboro in December, WRAL has learned.

The Atlantic Coast Conference rivals had played annual games in Raleigh and in Chapel Hill for more than 100 years before last season when the teams met just once in Raleigh. This season, the ACC scheduled just one meeting between the schools in Chapel Hill.

The additional meeting, which is not finalized, would be played Dec. 15 in Greensboro, according to a source.

The 18-team ACC moved from 20 conference games to 18 before last season in an attempt to improve the league’s NCAA Tournament credentials. It worked as the league received eight bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2026, but it also created some scheduling changes, including the elimination of a second game between NC State and UNC in most seasons.

The current conference schedule dictates that each school plays two teams twice (a primary partner and a variable partner), plays 14 teams once and misses one school altogether. In 2026-27, UNC will play Duke (primary) and Louisville (variable) twice and won’t play Clemson. NC State will play Wake Forest (primary) and California (variable) twice and won’t play Syracuse.

Greensboro was the longtime home of the conference office. The ACC men’s basketball tournament has been held at First Horizon Coliseum, formerly the Greensboro Coliseum, 29 times – the most in league history.

For decades, the ACC played a true round robin among its members — a format that became unworkable as the league grew to 12, 15 and, now, 18 basketball-playing schools.

State lawmakers have pursued various measures to force schools in the UNC System to play each other, citing the economic impact of such meetings. North Carolina and NC State are UNC System schools.

A 2024 bill would have required the two ACC schools to play each other and other in-state public universities in football and basketball. A 2025 bill, aimed at potential conference realignment, would have required that NC State and UNC play each annually in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball. The Senate’s 2025 budget proposal would have required more basketball games between UNC, NC State and smaller schools across the state. The budget would have added UNC and NC State to the schools that receive annual distributions from sports betting tax revenue.

None of those measures have become law.

NC State and North Carolina have been conference mates since 1911, first in the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association, then in the Southern Conference and now the ACC. Both have been members of the ACC since its 1953 founding.

Oklahoma State and Houston have an odd tradition dating back to their matchup in 1986. Neither team has won two games in a row.

Since that game in Stillwater in 1986 the Cougars and the Cowboys have alternated victories. Houston won that game in Stillwater, 28-12. The Cowboys followed that with a win in Houston in 1987.

Then the Cougars won in 2006 in Houston, followed by an Oklahoma State win in Stillwater in 2008. The two teams met again in 2009 in Stillwater and Houston won.

That was followed in 2023 by Oklahoma State’s first visit to Houston in Big 12 action with the Cowboys claiming the victory. And, of course, there was Oklahoma State’s loss to Houston last year in Stillwater.

If things hold the form, Oklahoma State will beat Houston this October. But the Cowboys are going to have to overcome something that Houston does better than them.

What Houston Does Better Than Oklahoma State

Given that both teams have talented offenses and have the potential to dominate in the passing game, it’s safe to say that’s a draw. Same for the running game with Caleb Hawkins at Oklahoma State and the incoming Makhi Hughes at Houston.

So, it could come down to who can defend the pass the best. In that area, Houston would have a clear advantage.

In terms of yards allowed in the air last year Houston was No. 10 in the Big 12 and Oklahoma State was No. 13. There wasn’t much separating the pair. But Houston had 12 interceptions to Oklahoma State’s six, and much of that production is coming back in the form of three returning starters. Plus, the Cougars managed to replace some of the lost production with an impressive transfer.

Will James was an All-Big 12 cornerback last year who returns with three interceptions and five pass breakups in what was a breakthrough season for the junior. Both safeties are back after last season as well. Kentrell Webb is more of a ball-hawkish type safety who can also tackle (71 tackles, one interception) while Jordan Allen had 48 tackles and broke up two passes.

New corner Jalen Mayo replaces much of the lost production on the back end. The Stephen F. Austin transfer helped the Lumberjacks win the Southland Conference and an FCS playoff game as he picked off four passes. He’ll combine with James to build a formidable group of cornerbacks that can also count on another transfer, Javion White, in a 4-2-5 formation.

Game planning will be a bit easier for Oklahoma State since it plays the same 4-2-5 scheme. But, on paper, Houston’s secondary looks much better than Oklahoma State’s, which only has one returning starter in LaDanian Fields, who is a sophomore. Fields has two interceptions as a redshirt freshman. But transfers will make up for what else was lost last season.

Given the continuity on Houston’s side, it’s easy to see why their secondary is the thing they do better than Oklahoma State. Of course, the Cowboys have enough runway to nullify that advantage before they meet in October.

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