Fielding L. Wright - Political Career

Political Career

Wright turned down several opportunities to run for public office before finally agreeing to run for the Mississippi Senate in 1928. He won that election and four years later was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. In his second term as a representative he was elected Speaker of the House, and used his position to promote and support industrialization, commercial development and highway construction, issues of great importance to a traditionally agricultural state struggling to modernize its economy.

In 1943 Wright was elected Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi. As Lieutenant Governor he was presiding officer of the Mississippi Senate, one of only two 20th century politicians to chair both houses of the legislature (Sam Lumpkin of Tupelo, Mississippi being the other). Following the death in office of Governor Thomas Lowry Bailey on November 2, 1946, Wright filled the remainder of Bailey's term as 49th Governor of Mississippi. Wright's strong stand on hotly debated issues such as racial segregation, civil rights and states' rights, combined with the advantages of incumbency, won his re-election as Governor of Mississippi in 1947. Wright won the governorship in the first primary, defeating four opponents.

Governor Wright's 1946–1952 administration concentrated largely on urbanization and industrialization, issues of increasing importance to rural states struggling to modernize their economies at the end of World War II. Fielding L. Wright governed Mississippi at a time when the state's economy, social customs, and race relations were undergoing slow but significant changes.