21 Facts About Phil Bryant

Dewey Phillip Bryant was born on December 9,1954 and is an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020.

Phil Bryant was re-elected in 2015, defeating Democratic nominee Robert Gray.

Phil Bryant was born in Moorhead in Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta.

Phil Bryant's family moved to the capital of Jackson, where his father worked for Jackson Mack Sales and was later Service Manager there.

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

Phil 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.

Phil Bryant 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.

Phil Bryant was appointed to serve as State Auditor by Governor Kirk Fordice following the resignation of Steve Patterson.

Phil Bryant was elected to a full term as auditor in 1999 and reelected in 2003.

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

Phil Bryant won the Republican primary in the gubernatorial election in 2011.

On January 10,2012, Phil Bryant was sworn in as the 64th Governor of Mississippi.

Once inaugurated, Phil 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".

Governor Phil Bryant ran for re-election in 2015, facing off against Mitch Young in the Republican primary, carrying 91.7 percent of the vote.

In 2015, Phil Bryant refused to support legislation to change the flag of Mississippi to remove the Confederate battle saltire, even though some members of his party, such as House Speaker Philip Gunn, publicly said the flag needed to change so that it could represent all Mississippians.

Phil Bryant took the position that voters should make the decision on the state flag.

Phil 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.

Phil Bryant signed a law scheduled to go into effect on July 1,2019, that would ban abortions later than six weeks of pregnancy.

In January 2019, Phil Bryant said he supported a bill to expand the use of civil forfeiture so that assets valued up to $20,000 could be seized by law enforcement without the forfeiture going before a judge.

In January 2023, it was announced that Phil Bryant was a potential target in the ongoing Mississippi welfare funds scandal where over $77 million funds were misappropriated or stolen.

Phil Bryant subsequently sued Mississippi Today, the outlet which broke the story, and its lead reporter, Anna Wolfe, alleging defamation.