How Delbert Hosemann and Daniel Sparks Have Betrayed Republicans

In Mississippi, the Lt. Governor presides over the State Senate, acting like the House Speaker, naming committee chairs, and setting the agenda. So whoever sits in that vital office can affect the direction of the Senate.

Currently holding the office of Lt. Governor in Mississippi is Delbert Hosemann, who may be a Republican but far from a conservative. In fact, he heads up the “moderate wing” of the party. 

Hosemann is actually a Republican In Name Only, a liberal wolf in conservative sheepskin. This is easily proven in several ways – his support of leftwing policies like his opposition to ending the income tax, his endorsement of Mitt Romney along with his refusal to support Donald Trump, his appointment of 13 out of 16 Democrats to committee chairmanships, his use of redistricting to punish true conservative Republican Senators, and on and on. In addition, in true liberal fashion, Hosemann managed to get a big pay raise for himself, upping the salary of the Lt. Governor from $60,000 to $90,000.

But another tactic of Hosemann’s is to push individual Senators to the left, thereby pushing the entire body to favor more progressive legislation, which is the Delbert Hosemann agenda. Time and again, Hosemann has referred to members of the State Senate as “my senators.” Does he see himself as Caesar addressing the Roman Senate? He certainly seems to act like it at times.

“Delbert gives his puppets their instructions to whip votes,” one member of the State Senate told me. 

One conspicuous example of a “Hosemann Puppet” succumbing to the “Hosemann Treatment” is Senator Daniel Sparks of District 5 in the Northeast corner of Mississippi. This district encompasses Tishomingo County and part of Prentiss and Itawamba, all of which went heavily for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Tishomingo gave Trump more than 86 percent of the vote, Prentiss more than 78 percent, and Itawamba more than 87 percent in 2020. 

Yet the loud State Senator for District 5, Daniel Sparks, is no conservative. He barely qualifies as a Republican. Sparks’ rating with the American Conservative Union (ACU) is terrible, with a 2020 score of 56, a 2022 score of 55, and a lifetime score of 60. He’s one of the most liberal Republicans in Jackson. 

According to the ACU, Sparks’ lowest-ranked areas are among the most important for conservatives: regulations, taxes, budget, and spending. He has voted for oversized government items such as funding for the state Board of Barber Examiners, a regulatory agency, and millions of dollars for the left-leaning Mississippi Authority for Educational Television. He even voted for a $10 million appropriation for a private hotel in Jackson and supported an 80 percent increase in welfare funding for welfare recipients. But perhaps more alarmingly, Sparks supported a hefty pay raise for himself. Disgusting.

According to Americans for Prosperity, which also gave him a grade of D, Sparks voted in favor of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, which, according to AFP, “included arbitrary caps, high fees, and unreasonable regulations that do not allow for a free marketplace for medical marijuana in Mississippi.” He expanded the size of government by voting to create a new department of tourism, supported more bond issues (meaning hundreds of millions of dollars of additional debt), and voted against a bill that would have allowed people to buy products that contained pseudoephedrine and ephedrine without a prescription. In 2021 alone, he supported 14 bills to extend additional local sales taxes without voter approval — all tax increases for the people of Mississippi.  

As one Senator explained, “He just barks a lot. Sparks will do anything to feel important, including being Delbert’s little errand boy. He’ll do anything for power. Anything for a pat on the head.”  

While seeking Delbert’s favor, Sparks does his dirty work in the chamber. For instance, in 2021, Senator Angela Hill was fighting hard to pass the Fairness Act, a law to require schools to designate sports teams by biological sex. In other words, a student born a biological male must compete as a male. It was designed specifically to safeguard women’s athletics in all Mississippi schools at all levels of competition. 

Delbert, the Democrat, opposed the Fairness Act, as most liberal Democrats did, and tried to strip out the teeth in the bill to make it virtually unenforceable. In an unbelievable ploy, he removed one of the most important aspects of the bill: a provision that protected women from having men come into their private spaces, such as locker rooms.

Then Hosemann decided to use the Fairness Act as leverage to force a vote on another bill he sought to pass, the so-called “Ban the Box” bill. This proposal, introduced by Democrats, would ban public employees from requiring applicants to disclose criminal convictions, including felonies, on a job application.

One State Senator told me that Sparks, with Delbert’s backing, tried to gain their support by holding up the Fairness Act. “Either you give us a ‘yes’ vote on Ban the Box,” Sparks threatened, “or you won’t have the opportunity to vote on the Fairness Act because it won’t make it to the floor.”

Fortunately, Hosemann and Sparks failed in their effort, and a strong Fairness Act eventually passed and was signed into law by Governor Reeves. And now that he’s in a tight race for re-election, Delbert is trying to take credit for the passage of the Fairness Act.

Hosemann also rewards his “puppets” with campaign cash. His campaign committee handed Sparks a $500 check on November 30, 2022, as a reward for services rendered. In fact, Hosemann sent $500 checks to several Senators for 2023. No checks went to true conservative Senators like Chris McDaniel, Kathy Chism, or Melanie Sojourner, who Hosemann redistricted out of office. Delbert only pays those who do his bidding and vote as they are instructed.

Because of this push to the left, Mississippi is now considered by the American Conservative Union as a “purple” state — so much so that the state of Michigan has a more conservative legislature than Mississippi. In fact, the organization’s map has the state headed toward blue. The ACU gave Mississippi an overall conservative grade of 55, while the State Senate stands at just 48. 

This may seem strange for a state with a Republican Governor, Lt. Governor, and Republicans in every statewide office, in addition to a Republican supermajority in BOTH state legislature chambers. But Republicanism does not equal conservatism, which has taken a backseat, especially in the State Senate under Delbert’s leadership. And that’s how he wants it.

As one Senator told me, “If Chris McDaniel doesn’t win Mississippi will go blue.”

And apparently, that’s how Daniel Sparks also wants it. Instead of serving his constituents, he serves to satisfy Delbert Hosemann, even if his voting record is a disaster for Republicans. As a result, Mississippi drifts further and further to the left. 

And little Sparky keeps barking to protect Delbert Hosemann.