According to a poll commissioned by Mississippi House Speaker Jason White, R-West, and completed via texts and an online platform by Cygnal, more than 33% of state voters out of the 500 who replied said the economy is their chief concern.
Of the 500 respondents, 50.2% identified as conservatives, 26.2% identified as moderates, 16.7% identified as liberal and 6.9% of respondents were not sure of their ideological identity.
Tax cuts
After that, the top three priorities listed in the same question were eliminating personal income and grocery taxes, crime and public safety and healthcare access for the state’s working population.
“We will make informed decisions based on verifiable data, not partisan rhetoric,” White said in a press release issued Wednesday afternoon. “Mississippi is facing critical challenges and the House of Representatives is committed to doing the work that the people care about most.”
Of the stated goals of House Republicans for the 2025 Legislative Session addressed in the poll, 14.7% of respondents said eliminating the personal income tax was their top priority, and 14% said eliminating the grocery tax was their top priority. Mississippi’s grocery tax is among the highest in the nation.
Of those who answered whether they support eliminating the state’s 4.7% personal income tax over the next five years, 64.3% said yes, while 84.5% said they supported eliminating the 7% grocery tax.
The polling data was first presented to eventgoers at a tax policy summit White held in September. At the time, his office said it intended to publish the poll’s findings before the 2025 session.
Tax policy summit: What was saidMS Senate panelists want ‘baby steps’ on income tax reforms. Read what they said
Medicaid expansion
Medicaid expansion dies in LegislatureMedicaid expansion dies in Mississippi Legislature
When asked if they support Medicaid expansion, 63.7% of overall respondents said yes.
Medicaid expansion died in the Legislature this year after both legislative chambers failed to come to a compromise over a controversial work requirement, which the House was willing to go without if it meant the state would expand Medicaid, but the Senate was not.
Even though it fell through, Medicaid expansion was brought up by Republican leadership for the first time this year, and it was one of the most heated debates in the 2024 Session.
Roads and bridges
When it came to roads, 4.6% of those polled said it was their top priority to have consistent funding for public infrastructure, and 83.8% of respondents said they would support providing that funding for roads and bridges.
Ballot initiatives
Another issue that came up during the session was returning the ballot initiative to the people of Mississippi. In 2021, the ballot initiative was invalidated after a lawsuit was filed seeking to reverse a medical marijuana bill, Initiative 65. It succeeded on the merit that state laws had not been updated to reflect the current number of congressional districts in Mississippi. The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature would need to correct state law to fix it.
Ballot initiative reform diesBallot initiative reform dies in Mississippi Senate Monday
The House overwhelmingly passed ballot initiative reform, but it died in the Senate, and 4.7% of respondents said the ballot initiative is their top priority. White has said he plans to bring the legislation back up in 2025.
Other questions posed for support during the poll also lined up with other policy initiatives, such as school choice (72.4%), early voting (41.9%) and certificate of need reform (46.4%), among others.
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
