It’s still a long way off and a lot could happen between now and the 2027 state elections in Mississippi, but one of the more intriguing early names to surface as a possible candidate for governor is billionaire Thomas Duff.
Duff is well-known among GOP insiders in Mississippi, since he has contributed heavily to Republican campaigns. He’s not exactly a household name among the general public, though.
Other than serving an eight-year term on the College Board, he’s been mostly out of the public eye. He has the money, of course, to purchase name recognition fairly quickly. Still he’d start off way behind in that regard to the bushel of current or former elected officeholders who are reportedly considering a run for governor when the time runs out for term-limited incumbent Tate Reeves.
Should Duff make the political plunge, he would immediately grab attention because of his considerable business accomplishments and his philanthropy. A recent profile by Mississippi Today political reporter Geoff Pender detailed some of Duff’s background.
“Duff and his brother (Jim) turned a small, struggling company into Southern Tire Mart, the nation’s largest truck tire dealer and retread manufacturer,” writes Pender. “They created Duff Capitol Investors, the largest privately held business in Mississippi, with ownership in more than 20 companies, including KLLM Transport, TL Wallace Construction and Southern Insurance Group.”
Reportedly, the Duff brothers are worth a combined $7 billion.
The last time Mississippi had a businessman successfully run for governor was in the early 1990s, when Kirk Fordice, the owner of a Vicksburg construction company, broke a century-long Republican drought at the Governor’s Mansion and set the stage for the GOP dominance in state government that continues today.
Duff’s demeanor, described as “calm and friendly” by Pender, is the opposite of that of Fordice, who was famous for his gruff persona and occasional physical threats to reporters and Democrats with whom he clashed.
Still, there might be some parallels. Most businessmen who enter government get frustrated. They are used to having their decisions carried out and carried out quickly. Government is ponderous and requires consensus. Furthermore, Mississippi’s government is intentionally set up to make the governor weak, giving him an executive branch that largely acts independently of the person at the top. That would be an adjustment for Duff.
The biggest adjustment, though, would be the loss of privacy, something that Duff reportedly relishes. Should he declare his candidacy, not only will reporters be snooping into his business and personal life, but so will his potential opponents. If there are any skeletons in his closet, he’s got to expect that they are going to come out. Even if there are no major embarrassments, anything potentially negative is going to be twisted in campaign ads to make it look worse than it is. Not everyone has the stomach for that.
A major obstacle to Duff winning a governor’s race could be his faith. Being the richest man in Mississippi will be less of a hurdle in this poor, heavily Protestant state than being a Mormon will. The beliefs and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not well-known or understood by the average Mississippian. Where there’s little familiarity with a religion, there’s usually prejudice against it. Duff will have to be prepared to deal with that.
All in all, there’s a lot to discourage him from running. He certainly doesn’t need the job.
But it might be a nice change to have not just a businessman in the governor’s office but someone who is not so confrontational.
