Changes

In 1898, Bilbo married the former Lillian Herrington of Wiggins, who died two years later, leaving him with a one-year old daughter, Jessie Forrest.<ref name=finalyears,pp,5-6>Smith, Charles Pope (May 1983). Theodore G. Bilbo's Senatorial Career. The Final Years: 1941–47, pp. 5–6. ''University of Southern Mississippi''. Retrieved June 19, 2023.</ref> He subsequently married Linda Gaddy, with whom he had a son, Theodore Gilmore Bilbo, Jr.

In 1898, Bilbo married the former Lillian Herrington of Wiggins, who died two years later, leaving him with a one-year old daughter, Jessie Forrest.<ref name=finalyears,pp,5-6>Smith, Charles Pope (May 1983). Theodore G. Bilbo's Senatorial Career. The Final Years: 1941–47, pp. 5–6. ''University of Southern Mississippi''. Retrieved June 19, 2023.</ref> He subsequently married Linda Gaddy, with whom he had a son, Theodore Gilmore Bilbo, Jr.

Bilbo's political career began in the [[Progressive Era]],<ref name=fleegler,p.6>Fleegler, Robert L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220310171829/https://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947], p. 6. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved December 18, 2022.</ref> running for a circuit clerk position in 1903 though losing to a one-armed Baptist minister<ref name=finalyears,pp,5-6/> and Confederate veteran.<ref name=msencyclopediabio/> He later was elected a state senator, serving from 1908 to 1912. In the upper body of the legislature, Bilbo aligned with the progressive faction in support of populist governor James K. Vardaman, earning the praise of the latter in a statement published in a periodical: "The people of South Mississippi have an able champion in the person of Senator Bilbo."<ref name=finalyears,pp,5-6/>

Bilbo's political career began in the [[Progressive Era]],<ref name=fleegler,p.6>Fleegler, Robert L. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220310171829/https://www.mississippihistory.org/sites/default/files/bilbo.pdf Theodore G. Bilbo and the Decline of Public Racism, 1938–1947], p. 6. ''Internet Archive''. Retrieved December 18, 2022.</ref> running for circuit clerk in 1903 though losing to a one-armed Baptist minister<ref name=finalyears,pp,5-6/> and Confederate veteran.<ref name=msencyclopediabio/> He later was elected a state senator, serving from 1908 to 1912. In the upper body of the legislature, Bilbo aligned with the progressive faction in support of populist governor James K. Vardaman, earning the praise of the latter in a statement published in a periodical: "The people of South Mississippi have an able champion in the person of Senator Bilbo."<ref name=finalyears,pp,5-6/>

==Statewide office, 1912–20==

==Statewide office, 1912–20==