Delbert Hosemann has made it official. He will seek the position of Mississippi’s Lieutenant Governor.

The Vicksburg native was in downtown Tuesday to have lunch with a few of his supporters at 10South, sign a few books and shake hands.

The Republican, who has been widely regarded as a candidate, said Vicksburg was the right place to officially announce his candidacy for lieutenant governor.

“Our roots are here,” Hosemann said.

About family

Asked why he made the decision to seek the office of lieutenant governor, Hosemann, 71, said it’s because he has done all he can as Mississippi’s Secretary of State and wants to do more for not only the people of Mississippi, but for his legacy.

He and his wife Lynn became grandparents for the seventh time this week. Howard Delbert Hosemann is named also for Vicksburg’s Howard Waring, whose daughter is married to Hosemann’s son.

“(His birth) inspired in me that I want this to be a place they can have the same opportunities I had and you had; their future, where they’re going to work, how good a state this will be, and enjoy the same things we did growing up here in Vicksburg. I want that for them too.

“In Mississippi, the lieutenant governor has a bigger impact on school funding, infrastructure, and jobs,” Hosemann said. “We’ve already had a couple of discussions with the mayor about jobs here. So there’s a lot you can do in that position.”

Republican Tate Reeves, who is bound by term limits as Mississippi’s current lieutenant governor, is running for governor.

New goals

He’s been secretary of state for Mississippi since 2008 and believes he’s done all he can “on the things they asked me to do.”

“On voter ID, we were probably the only state that didn’t get sued. We raised over a billion dollars on 16th section land. They asked me to bring the business laws up to the 21st century and we’ve done that,” Hosemann said.

“So we’ve done what they’ve hired me to do and I think it’s time to take a look at other things, and this is one I’ve had a real strong interest in.”

Fiscally responsible

He has a message for Mississippi’s voters and those considering casting a vote for him in August.

“I think they should look at my record as secretary of state, first of all, and second of all, I’m very committed to the Vicksburg community,” Hosemann said. “I intend to be as helpful as possible. And third, my budget this year is less than the day I started 12 years ago, so they should anticipate that I’m going to watch their dollars. We’re going to run the state of Mississippi efficiently.”

Excited to run

And he’s looking forward to the campaign, which kicked off this week on a 3-day tour of nine Mississippi cities from the Coast to the Tennessee line.

“I am excited,” Hosemann said. “The birth of our seventh grandchild just reinvigorated me to get started. There are so many things we want to do.”

Jay Hughes, a first-term Democrat in the Mississippi House from Oxford, announced last month he is also running for lieutenant governor.