Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Michael Watson (Mississippi)
2020 - Present
2028
5
Michael D. Watson Jr. (Republican Party) is the Mississippi Secretary of State. He assumed office on January 9, 2020. His current term ends on January 6, 2028.
Watson was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in 1977. He received a bachelor's degree and J.D. from the University of Mississippi. Watson owned Watson Legal, PLLC, and focused on business and construction law.[1][2][3]
Watson's early political work included interning for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R) in 1999.[1] He was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 2007, representing District 51 from 2008 to 2020. A 2019 Mississippi Today article said of Watson's time in the Senate: "[he] was a founding member of the Senate Conservative Caucus."[4] As a senator, Watson said he drafted "the Fetal Protection Act, which strengthens the penalties for injuring an unborn child, Mississippi’s first comprehensive illegal immigration law, and legislation allowing alternate track diplomas."[1]
Watson won election as Mississippi secretary of state on November 5, 2019. He defeated Johnny DuPree (D) 58.8%-41.2%. During his first term as secretary of state, Watson "pushed for legislation to make it easier to remove inactive voters from voter rolls, to implement a citizenship check for people when they register to vote and to ease regulations on businesses."[5]
Watson was re-elected on November 7, 2023, defeating Ty Pinkins (D) 59.5%-40.5%. Heading into 2025, Watson reiterated a 2023 campaign priority: "We have submitted a plan to centralize campaign finance, bringing the enforcement under one roof, and require mandatory online filing for all candidates. Our goal remains to increase enforcement of campaign finance laws and instill more accountability and transparency in our elections."[6]
Biography
Watson earned a B.B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Mississippi. His professional experience includes working as an attorney. He and his wife have three daughters.[7]
Political career
Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.
Watson's political career includes the following offices:
- 2020-present: Mississippi Secretary of State
- 2008-2020: Mississippi State Senate District 51
Elections
2023
See also: Mississippi Secretary of State election, 2023
General election
General election for Mississippi Secretary of State
Incumbent Michael D. Watson Jr. defeated Ty Pinkins in the general election for Mississippi Secretary of State on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michael D. Watson Jr. (R) | 59.5 | 481,895 |
 | Ty Pinkins (D) | 40.5 | 328,067 | |
| Total votes: 809,962 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Shuwaski Young (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State
Shuwaski Young advanced from the Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Shuwaski Young | 100.0 | 183,120 |
| Total votes: 183,120 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State
Incumbent Michael D. Watson Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael D. Watson Jr. | 100.0 | 351,774 |
| Total votes: 351,774 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Watson received the following endorsements.
2019
See also: Mississippi Secretary of State election, 2019
General election
General election for Mississippi Secretary of State
Michael D. Watson Jr. defeated Johnny DuPree in the general election for Mississippi Secretary of State on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael D. Watson Jr. (R) | 58.8 | 511,249 |
 | Johnny DuPree (D) | 41.2 | 357,806 | |
| Total votes: 869,055 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State
Johnny DuPree defeated Maryra Hunt in the Democratic primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Johnny DuPree | 71.7 | 200,423 |
 | Maryra Hunt | 28.3 | 79,201 | |
| Total votes: 279,624 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State
Michael D. Watson Jr. defeated Sam Britton in the Republican primary for Mississippi Secretary of State on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael D. Watson Jr. | 52.8 | 187,054 |
 | Sam Britton | 47.2 | 167,440 | |
| Total votes: 354,494 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2015
Elections for the Mississippi State Senate took place in 2015. A primary election was held on August 4, 2015, and the general election was held on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 27, 2015.[8] No Democratic candidates filed for election. Incumbent Michael Watson Jr. defeated Butch Loper in the Republican primary. Boyd Kendall (L) ran as a third party candidate. Watson defeated Kendall in the general election.
| Mississippi State Senate, District 51 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Michael Watson |
83% | 8,553 | |
| Libertarian | Boyd Kendall | 17% | 1,746 | |
| Total Votes | 10,299 | |||
| Mississippi State Senate, District 51 Republican Primary, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|
Michael Watson Jr. Incumbent |
65.6% | 5,148 |
| Butch Loper | 34.4% | 2,704 |
| Total Votes | 7,852 | |
2011
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2011
Watson won re-election to the Mississippi Senate District 51. He ran unopposed in the primary on August 2 and in the general election on November 8, 2011.[9]
2007
- See also: Mississippi State Senate elections, 2007
On November 6, 2007, Watson ran for District 51 of the Mississippi State Senate, beating Ray Vecchio.[10]
Watson raised $122,476 for his campaign.[11]
| Mississippi Senate, District 51 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Michael Watson (R) | 10,305 | 74.7% | ||
| Ray Vecchio (D) | 3,490 | 25.3% | ||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael D. Watson Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Michael D. Watson Jr. completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Watson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Watson’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
This is why I'm running... My record of public service proves that I have consistently focused my skills, education and experience to serve our state as a champion of liberty. I look forward to bringing my conservative record of consistent success in the legislature to the Secretary of State's office. Voter ID Land Management Business Development My wife and I are small business owners, so I will come into office with a personal understanding of the needs of our business community. I will seek to maintain the business of the state with as little intrusion as possible upon free enterprise. As your Secretary of State, I am excited about promoting Mississippi as an ideal place for investment with an indomitable and eager workforce. Our citizens are capable and diligent. It will be an honor to represent you across the nation and work to bring more jobs and opportunity home to you. Proof of Citizenship |
” |
| —Michael Watson’s campaign website (2019)[13] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
State legislative tenure
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Watson was assigned to the following committees:
- Investigate State Offices Committee
- Senate Drug Policy Committee, Vice-Chairman
- Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources Committee, Chairman
- Finance Committee
- Ports and Marine Resources Committee
- Senate Forestry Committee
- Judiciary, Division B Committee
- Senate Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Watson served on the following committees:
| Mississippi committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Constitution, Chair |
| • Drug Policy, Vice Chair |
| • Compilation, Revision and Publication |
| • Finance |
| • Forestry |
| • Investigate State Offices |
| • Judiciary, Division B |
| • Ports and Marine Resources |
| • Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks |
2012-2013
In the 2012-2013 legislative session, Watson served on the following committees:
| Mississippi committee assignments, 2012 |
|---|
| • Constitution, Chair |
| • Drug Policy, Vice Chair |
| • Compilation, Revision and Publication |
| • Finance |
| • Forestry |
| • Investigate State Offices |
| • Judiciary, Division B |
| • Ports and Marine Resources |
| • Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks |
2010-2011
In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Watson served on these committees:
| Mississippi committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Drug Policy |
| • Education |
| • Finance |
| • Insurance |
| • Judiciary, Division A |
| • Judiciary, Division B |
| • Ports and Marine Resources |
| • Public Utilities |
| • Tourism |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Mississippi scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2019
In 2019, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 8 through March 29.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business and economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2018, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 2 through March 28.
|
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 3 through March 29. There was also a special session June 5.
|
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2016, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 5 through April 21.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 6 through April 2.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Mississippi State Legislature was in session from January 7 through April 2.
|
See also
2023 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Mississippi Secretary of State |
Officeholder Mississippi Secretary of State |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Michael Watson Secretary of State, "About Michael Watson," accessed April 29, 2025
- ↑ Mississippi Today, "Michael D. Watson Jr. Bio," July 3, 2019
- ↑ Mississippi Public Broadcasting, "Michael Watson (R)," June 13, 2019
- ↑ Mississippi Today, "Michael Watson, candidate for state elections chief, sought to toss African American votes in 2014 Senate election," July 23, 2019
- ↑ Mississippi Free Press, "Mississippi Elections Chief Michael Watson Running For Re-Election, Not Governor," January 26, 2023
- ↑ Michael Watson Secretary of State, "Secretary Michael Watson Update," February 3, 2025
- ↑ Michael Watson Secretary of State, "About Michael Watson," accessed June 4, 2019
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Elections Calendar," accessed December 2, 2014
- ↑ Mississippi Department of State, "2011 Official State Senate Candidate List," accessed April 2, 2015
- ↑ Mississippi State Senate official election results for 2007
- ↑ Follow the Money's report on Watson's 2007 campaign contributions
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michael Watson Secretary of State, "Why I'm Running," accessed June 4, 2019
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Delbert Hosemann (R) |
Mississippi Secretary of State 2020-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Mississippi State Senate District 51 2008-2020 |
Succeeded by Jeremy England (R) |
| |||||||||||||||||||
