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Shad White
2018 - Present
2028
7
Shad White (Republican Party) is the Mississippi State Auditor. He assumed office in 2018. His current term ends on January 6, 2028.
White (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Mississippi State Auditor. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Biography
White grew up in Sandersville, Mississippi, and attended Northeast Jones High School. Afterward, he received degrees from the University of Mississippi in 2008 and then Harvard Law School. He also attended the University of Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, and became an officer in the Mississippi National Guard.[1]
White is the former director of the Mississippi Justice Institute; was an attorney at the firm Butler Snow, LLP; and worked as a special prosecutor in Rankin County, Mississippi. He also held political positions as the re-election campaign manager for former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant in 2015 and as the policy director when Bryant was lieutenant governor.[2]
Political career
Mississippi Auditor (2018-present)
In his current position as state auditor, White's main role is to assess state and local governmental and other entities to ensure that public funds are properly used.
Noteworthy events
Demand for repayment of misspent welfare funds from Brett Favre and others (October 2021)
As state auditor in October 2021, White served court orders on several nonprofits, corporations, and individuals for the return of $77 million in allegedly misspent welfare funds. The demands for payment followed a two-year audit of the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS) by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor. White reported that his office had “found tens of millions of dollars in misspending” of Temporary Aid to Need Families (TANF) funds. TANF is a poverty program jointly funded by state and federal tax dollars.
White issued a general demand for reimbursement from John Davis, the former executive director of Mississippi DHS. According to a news release from the State Auditor, the demand to Davis was “for $96.313 million – which includes interest – for his role authorizing over $77 million in illegal TANF spending.”
White’s office also stated that two nonprofits, “either misspent or improperly dispersed portions of that $77 million, meaning the money was ultimately misspent by a vendor to the nonprofit.” White sent his demands for reimbursement to the leadership of both nonprofits.
White’s office stated: “These demands are civil in nature, not criminal. A civil demand does not imply criminal liability.” The parties were given 30 days to reimburse the state, after which White said he would use litigation to collect payment.
Demands for repayment were also sent to vendors to the two nonprofits. White’s news release alleged the vendors had received the “welfare spending but did not completely fulfill the terms of their contracts” and that along with Davis they were “liable jointly and severally” for repayment.
White’s office found that former NFL quarterback Brett Favre was one of the vendors. White said the auditors found that Favre had received $1.1 million for speeches he did not perform. The State Auditor initially demanded $858,000 from Favre, representing principle and interest. Favre paid $600,000 of the total by October 2021.[3][4]
According to a spokesperson for White, Favre’s partial payment was the only reimbursement paid by any of the named vendors within the 30-day deadline. In November 2021 the remaining reimbursement claims against Favre and the others were referred to the Mississippi Attorney General’s office for collection proceedings.[4]
In October 2022, Favre stated he was not aware that the money paid to him had come from misallocated welfare payments.[5]
Elections
2023
See also: Mississippi Auditor election, 2023
General election
General election for Mississippi State Auditor
Incumbent Shad White defeated Larry Bradford in the general election for Mississippi State Auditor on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Shad White (R) | 58.6 | 474,313 |
 | Larry Bradford (D) | 41.4 | 334,418 | |
| Total votes: 808,731 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Mississippi State Auditor
Larry Bradford advanced from the Democratic primary for Mississippi State Auditor on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Larry Bradford | 100.0 | 183,823 |
| Total votes: 183,823 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi State Auditor
Incumbent Shad White advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi State Auditor on August 8, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Shad White | 100.0 | 347,921 |
| Total votes: 347,921 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
White received the following endorsements.
2019
See also: Mississippi Auditor election, 2019
General election
General election for Mississippi State Auditor
Incumbent Shad White won election in the general election for Mississippi State Auditor on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Shad White (R) | 100.0 | 656,902 |
| Total votes: 656,902 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Mississippi State Auditor
Incumbent Shad White advanced from the Republican primary for Mississippi State Auditor on August 6, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Shad White | 100.0 | 333,530 |
| Total votes: 333,530 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Shad White did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2019
Shad White did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Mississippi State Auditor |
Officeholder Mississippi State Auditor |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Mississippi Office of the State Auditor, “About The Auditor," accessed December 1, 2022
- ↑ University of Mississippi Department of Economics, “Shadrack (Shad) White," accessed December 1, 2022
- ↑ Mississippi Office of the State Auditor, “Auditor Demands Repayment of Misspent Welfare Money,” October 12, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mississippi Free Press, “Mississippi Auditor Refers 10, Including Brett Favre, to Attorney General Over Welfare Money,” November 18, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Free Press, “Brett Favre Says He Did ‘Nothing Wrong’ With Welfare Funds, Decries Media ‘Smears’,” October 11, 2022
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - |
Mississippi State Auditor 2018-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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