Washington, D.C. – The Club for Growth Foundation released its 2025 State Economic Scorecard for Mississippi, offering residents of the Magnolia State a comprehensive analysis of how each lawmaker in Jackson approached limited-government policies.
The Scorecard analyzes policies and votes to assign an Economic Growth Score from 0 to 100, with 100 representing the highest support for pro-growth policies. In 2025, the Foundation’s study examined over 1,700 floor votes and ultimately included 15 Mississippi House and 16 Mississippi Senate votes.
“The 2025 legislative session in Mississippi is unfortunately emblematic of the addiction so many elected officials have to big spending, regardless of party affiliation,” said Club for Growth Foundation President David McIntosh. “Despite a successful start to overhauling the state’s burdensome tax code, lawmakers accelerated and expanded unseemly corporate welfare programs, increased the state’s Medicaid footprint, enacted new taxpayer-backed paid leave mandates, and granted unprecedented power to unelected bureaucrats to shovel taxpayer money into the hands of well-connected interests. Sadly, the scores make the point. There is a long way to go to cultivate an actual culture of limited government and economic opportunity within the Mississippi legislature.”
Click here to read the full 2025 Mississippi State Economic Scorecard from the Club for Growth Foundation.
Key Highlights from the 2025 Mississippi Scorecard:
Mississippi House:
- Average Republican Score: 28%
- Average Democrat Score: 10%
- Highest Rated Republican(s): Rep. Stacy Hobgood Wilkes (HD-108): 75%
- Highest Rated Democrat(s): Reps. Justis Gibbs (HD-72), Gregory Holloway (HD-76), Kenji Holloway (HD-27), and Fabian Nelson (HD-66): 24%
- Lowest Rated Republican(s): Reps. Jon Lancaster (HD-22), Mark Tullos (HD-79), and Missy Warren McGee (HD-102): 21%
- Lowest Rated Democrat(s): 8 Democrats scored 0%
Mississippi Senate:
- Average Republican Score: 24%
- Average Democrat Score: 12%
- Highest Rated Republican(s): Sen. Angela Burks Hill (SD-40): 43%
- Highest Rated Democrat(s): Sen. Reginald Jackson (SD-11): 22%
- Lowest Rated Republican(s): Sen. David Parker (SD-02): 5%
- Lowest Rated Democrat(s): Sens. David Blount (SD-29), Hob Bryan (SD-07), Hillman Frazier (SD-27), and Rob Hickman (SD-32): 0%
Notable Pro-Limited Government Policies:
HB 1 – SIGNIFICANT STATEWIDE TAX OVERHAUL
- Lowers the individual income tax rate from 4.4 percent to 3 percent by January 1, 2030.
- If specific revenue metrics are met, the bill inserts a trigger to eliminate the personal income tax by 2040.
- Lowers the sales tax on groceries from 7 percent to 5 percent beginning July 1, 2025.
- Increases the excise tax on gasoline from 18.5 cents per gallon to 27.5 cents per gallon by July 1, 2027.
- Estimated savings for taxpayers are between $2.7 billion and $3 billion on an annual basis.
HB 922 – CERTIFICATE OF NEED REFORMS
- Repeals existing CON restrictions on birthing centers, drug treatment facilities, and intermediate care centers for those with intellectual disabilities.
- Loosens restrictions on dialysis centers and diagnostic imaging facilities beginning in 2029.
HB 1193 – DISMANTLING TAXPAYER-FUNDED DEI INFRASTRUCTURE
- Prohibits the promotion or practice of DEI in taxpayer-funded entities by restricting opening DEI offices, programs that promote race essentialism, and funds from being expended to advance critical theory-infused directives.
- Protects students, contractors, and employees from being forced to take part in training or activities that promote race essentialism.
Notable Anti-Limited Government Policies:
HB 23 – SIGNIFICANT MEDICAID APPROPRIATIONS PACKAGE
- Appropriates $8.4 billion in total spending for FY2026 for the Mississippi Medicaid program and includes a $110 million state and federal spending increase over the FY2025 appropriations baseline.
SB 2573 – MASSIVE NEW TAXPAYER-FUNDED TOURISM SCHEME
- Establishes a permanent Department of Tourism to promote tourism and aid special interests with taxpayer-funded grants.
- Creates a Department of Tourism Advertising Fund to subsidize marketing campaigns and creates a Tourism Association Marketing Advisory Board to centralize such marketing projects.
- The bill does not list any authorized appropriations, leaving the total cost unknown.
SB 3165 – EXPANSIVE CRONYISM SCHEME
- Increases the aggregate cap on borrowed funds by $25 million over FY2025 levels to a new high of $427 million (a 6.2% increase).
- Increases subsidized loans from the Housing Development Revolving Loan Fund and site development general obligation bonds by $5 million each over FY2025 levels.
- Increases a corporate welfare slush fund by $20 million over FY2025 levels.
- Extends the Industry Incentive Financing program by another four years.
Note: This Scorecard is based on selected votes and does not reflect a legislator’s entire voting record. The Club for Growth Foundation does not endorse or oppose any legislator for public office.