Nationwide — Priscilla Williams Till, civil rights advocate and cousin of Emmett Till, the African American teen who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, is preparing to run for governor of Mississippi in 2027. The announcement will mark her latest campaign for statewide office after her unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate earlier this year.
She will formally announce her campaign on Oct. 2 at Jackson State University during the “Justice on the Line” conference, an event expected to bring together people from civic, civil rights, and legal organizations. The conference will also focus on several cases involving deaths that have drawn attention from civil rights advocates, including the death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells.
According to WLBT, Till’s campaign is expected to center on civil rights protections and access to health care. Her platform also includes expanding Medicaid, protecting workers’ rights, and improving access to clean water. She plans to address systemic racism as well as violence and incarceration. Her campaign also highlights concerns about what she describes as the prison pipeline.
Her work on those issues is closely connected to her family history. Till is a former educator and founded the Emmett Till Justice for Families Foundation. Emmett Till was 14 when he was kidnapped and murdered in Mississippi in 1955. His death became a major event in the civil rights movement and remains closely associated with the fight for racial justice in the United States.
She has also spoken critically about Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and her record on criminal justice. Till said Fitch has been “incapable of delivering justice.” Fitch, a Republican, is also running for governor and announced her campaign in August. Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson and former Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn have also entered the Republican primary.
The 2027 race will take place without Republican Gov. Tate Reeves seeking a third consecutive term. Mississippi’s next gubernatorial election is scheduled for Nov. 2, 2027. For Till, the campaign follows her recent Senate bid, when she competed in the March 10 Democratic primary against Scott Colom and Albert Littell. Colom won the nomination, while Till received 18.64% of the statewide vote. Her gubernatorial campaign now gives her another opportunity to seek statewide office in Mississippi.