Eddie Briggs

Eddie Briggs was born in Noxubee County, Mississippi and later moved to Kemper County. His father worked in forestry and his mother worked in a cafeteria. He attended East Mississippi Junior College on a football scholarship. He then obtained an undergraduate degree from Livingston College and a Juris Doctor degree from Mississippi College.

Briggs married a woman when he was 21 years old, later divorcing her. He then married Becky Harry.

Briggs served two terms in the Mississippi State Senate as a Democrat.{{sfn|Nash|Taggart|2009|p=274}} During that time he supported the creation of a four-lane highway program.{{sfn|Nash|Taggart|2009|p=188}} He then switched to the Republican Party in 1991{{sfn|Nash|Taggart|2009|p=274}} and entered the Republican lieutenant gubernatorial primary. He won it unchallenged and faced incumbent Democrat Lieutenant Governor Brad Dye—who had survived a narrow primary—and black independent Henry J. Kirksey. Briggs characterized Dye as beholden to "the tired, old, worn politic of the past" and denounced him for failing to pass reform legislation.{{sfn|Lamis|1999|p=257}} He also attacked him for refusing to release his tax returns, participate in a public debate, and for collecting the governor's salary while serving as acting governor whenever the incumbent was out of the state. Briggs ultimately won with 49.5 percent of the vote. Dye collected 41.5 percent, and Kirksey earned the remainder.{{sfn|Lamis|1999|p=257}} The Mississippi constitution stipulated that a statewide race not won by outright majority was to be decided by a vote of the House. Dye encouraged the House to affirm Briggs' victory on the basis that he earned a plurality of the votes.{{cite news| last = Salter| first = Sid| title = House rules again?| newspaper = The Clarion-Ledger| page = G1| date = October 26, 2003}}

Briggs was sworn-in before the State Legislature on January 9, 1992. Upon taking office, he declared that his priorities would be to secure term limits for state officials and institute a ballot initiative process.{{cite news| last = Eubank| first = Jay| title = Briggs, other state officials sworn in at Capitol ceremony| newspaper = The Clarion-Ledger | page = 3B| date = January 10, 1992| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108844813/clarion-ledger/}} He made five of the nine Republicans in the Senate chairs of committees and ousted many senior leaders in his appointments.{{cite news| last = Jack Jr.| first = Elliott| title = Wholesale shift made in power structure| newspaper = The Greenwood Commonwealth| agency = Associated Press| pages = 1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119946765/the-greenwood-commonwealth/ 3] | date = January 10, 1992| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119946786/the-greenwood-commonwealth/}}

As lieutenant governor, Briggs came into conflict with Republican incumbent Governor Kirk Fordice. Fordice was a businessman who had little value for the opinion of government officials and expected Briggs to follow his leadership. Briggs thought government experience was valuable and acted independently of him. He began to criticize the governor and at one point modified a gubernatorial proclamation while serving as acting governor while Fordice was traveling, earning a public rebuke from the governor. The Mississippi Republican Party chairman at one point arranged a meeting to broker a reconciliation between the two.{{sfn|Nash|Taggart|2009|p=274}} Briggs convinced the legislature to schedule a referendum to limit the lieutenant governor to two terms, which was successfully passed in November 1992.{{sfn|Nash|Taggart|2009|p=241}} He also supported tort reform legislation.{{sfn|Nash|Taggart|2009|p=296}}

Briggs ran for second term as lieutenant governor in 1995, facing Democrat Ronnie Musgrove. Briggs refused to debate his opponent, and Musgrove accused him of hypocrisy for not releasing his tax returns when he had demanded the same of Dye four years prior. Briggs also distanced himself from Fordice's reelection campaign due to the differences between the two. He lost to Musgrove, taking only 48 percent of the vote.{{cite news| last = Elliot| first = Jack Jr.| title = Ousted Briggs not dwelling on strategy of failed campaign| newspaper = The Clarion-Ledger| agency = Associated Press| page = 23 | date = November 25, 1995| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119732261/clarion-ledger/}} He left office on January 4, 1996.{{cite news| last = Holland| first = Gina| title = State swears in seven Democrats to statewide offices| newspaper = The Clarksdale Press Register| agency = Associated Press| page = 5| date = January 5, 1996 | url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108965669/the-clarksdale-press-register/}}{{cite news| title = Briggs says farewell today | newspaper = Enterprise-Journal| agency = Associated Press| page = 4| date = January 4, 1996| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119982733/enterprise-journal/}}

Upon leaving office, Briggs purchased a Ford car dealership in Canton and involved himself in timber and real estate ventures. In late 1998 he announced he would enter the 1999 gubernatorial election, saying, "I promise we will not let anyone outwork us this time."{{cite news| last = Harrison| first = Bobby| title = HED:Briggs: Something to prove| newspaper = Daily Journal| date = July 22, 1999| url = https://www.djournal.com/news/hed-briggs-something-to-prove/article_69f9db3f-7814-5233-b20e-c4147cfea8b9.html| access-date = July 4, 2022}} He campaigned on reducing taxes, specifically the state sales tax on food. He faced several Republicans in the primary including Congressman Mike Parker.{{cite web| url = http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/analysis/rothenberg/1999/02/25/| title = Mississippi's gov. race may determine bragging rights for Election '99| last = Rothenberg| first = Stuart| date = February 25, 1999| website = CNN| access-date = July 4, 2022}} Parker won the primary and was then defeated by Musgrove. Briggs is currently an attorney in practice in Madison in central Mississippi.

{{Election box begin no change

| title=Mississippi Lt. Governor general election (1995)}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Ronnie Musgrove

| votes = 405,629

| percentage = 52

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = Eddie Briggs (Incumbent)

| votes = 368,699

| percentage = 48

}}

{{Election box gain with party link without swing|  

| winner = Democratic Party (United States)

| loser = Republican Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box end}}

Source: {{cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/1041772782/ | title=Results at a Glance | publisher=Vicksburg Evening Post | date=8 November 1995| access-date=22 April 2025 }}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book| editor-last = Lamis| editor-first = Alexander P.| title = Southern Politics in the 1990s| publisher = Louisiana State University Press | date = 1999| location = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dLykDAAAQBAJ| isbn = 9780807166765}}
• {{cite book| last1 = Nash| first1 = Jere| last2 = Taggart| first2 = Andy| title = Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2008|edition=second| publisher =University Press of Mississippi| date = 2009| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=avs12QS3EZ4C| isbn = 9781604733570}}

{{Portal bar|Mississippi|Politics|Law}}

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Category:1949 births

Category:Living people

Category:Mississippi lawyers

Category:Lieutenant governors of Mississippi

Category:Republican Party Mississippi state senators

Category:People from De Kalb, Mississippi

Category:People from Madison, Mississippi

Category:20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature