Jim Herring
| James Harrell "Jim" Herring, Sr. | |
 | |
| In office 2001 – September 4, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Retzer |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Brad White |
| Born | November 13, 1938 Canton, Madison County Mississippi, USA |
| Political party | Democrat-turned-Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Beverly Herring |
| Children | James Herring, Jr. Daughters Caroline and Christine |
| Residence | Canton, Mississippi |
| Alma mater | University of Mississippi University of Mississippi School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Grace Chapel (Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Canton) |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Colonel; member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps and then the Army Reserve |
| Awards | Army Commendation Medal Three Meritorious Service medals |
James Harrell Herring, Sr., known as Jim Herring (born November 13, 1938) is an attorney[1] in private practice from his native Canton in Madison County, outside the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi. From 1997 to 1999, he was a judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals and from 2001 to 2008 the state chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party.[2][3]
Background
In 1960, Herring received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. He obtained his law degree from the same institution. He served in the United States Army for three years of active duty during the Cold War as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. For another twenty-one years, he was an Army reservist, in which capacity he reached the rank of colonel. He received the Army Commendation Medal and three Meritorious Service medals.[4]
Herring and his wife, Beverly, have a son, James, Jr., and two daughters, Caroline and Christine. He is an elder in the Grave Chapel Evangelical Presbyterian in Canton.[4]
Political career
A former prosecuting attorney for Madison County, Herring was elected as a Democrat in 1971 as the district attorney for the 20th Circuit District of Mississippi. On August 7, 1979, Herring ran for governor of Mississippi and polled 135,812 votes (18.4 percent) in the Democratic primary election. The nomination went to William Forrest Winter (born 1923), who defeated Edythe Evelyn Gandy (1920-2007), the then lieutenant governor who carried the backing of former U.S. Senator James Eastland, in the runoff election. Winter then handily defeated Republican Gil Carmichael of Meridian in the general election in what became Carmichael's second consecutive defeat for the state's highest office.[5]At some point after 1979, Herring defected to the Republican Party.
In 1996, Governor Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr., the first Republican chief executive in his state since Reconstruction, appointed Herring to the Mississippi State Personnel Board. In 1997, Fordice named him to the state Court of Appeals, in which capacity he participated in more than one thousand legal cases. Governor Haley Barbour named him a special judge of the Mississippi Supreme Court.[4]
Herring has been a member of both the Executive and Rules Committees of the Republican National Committee. Through an appointment from the national party chairman, he has been the "Chairman of the Chairmen" of all state and territorial Republican parties. U.S. President George W. Bush appointed Herring to the trustees of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation for a six-year term. He was also vice chairman of the foundation board. He is a board member of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. In 2012, he headed the transition team for the then incoming Republican Governor Phil Bryant.[4]
Herring considers himself an advocate of Ronald Reagan's "Eleventh Commandment" by which Republicans pledge not to attack other members of the party.[6]
References
- ↑ James Herring. Mylife.com. Retrieved on October 9, 2020.
- ↑ Ashley Elkins (January 10, 2008). Herring to step down as Miss. GOP chairman. djjournal.com. Retrieved on June 12, 2014.
- ↑ New Chairman at Mississippi Republican Party: Brad White Brings New Energy and Grassroots Experience to MSGOP. Gulf Coast News (September 8, 2008). Retrieved on June 12, 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 James H. Herring. hlclawfirm.com. Retrieved on June 12, 2014.
- ↑ Herring, Jim. ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved on October 9, 2020.
- ↑ The Specter of Hillary. jim-herring.blogspot.com (August 15, 2013). Retrieved on June 12, 2014.