Despite often being referred to as a suburb of Democrat-controlled Memphis, DeSoto County has become one of the most reliably conservative areas in Mississippi. It is there where voters in state House District 20 chose Rodney Hall as their next State Representative. When he is sworn in come January 2024, Hall will be the first black Republican to serve in the Mississippi House of Representatives since Reconstruction in the late 1800s.

Yet, while the win is without a doubt historic, Hall believes the color of his skin was not a factor for Republican voters in an area where roughly 60% of the population is white. Hall knows it is his values and principles, the same shared by most conservatives, that helped him win the day.

“When I started my race, I started with a few simple truths. There’s more that unites Mississippians than divides us. I don’t care what race, color, creed, nationality that you come from. And when you boil it down to the basics, most Mississippians desire freedom, they want the ability to grow and raise their family in a safe environment where there’s opportunity to achieve the American Dream,” Hall told Magnolia Tribune the day after his win. “That’s what the Republican Party stands for.”

He doesn’t think working Mississippians believe government is going to fix all of their problems, but “it can certainly get in the way and create a lot of problems.”