Jim Hood | |
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39th Attorney General of Mississippi | |
In office January 8, 2004 – January 14, 2020 | |
Governor | Haley Barbour Phil Bryant |
Preceded by | Mike Moore |
Succeeded by | Lynn Fitch |
Personal details | |
Born | James Matthew Hood May 15, 1962 New Houlka, Mississippi, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Debra Hood |
Children | 3 |
Education | University of Mississippi (BA, JD) |
James Matthew Hood (born May 15, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 39th Attorney General of Mississippi from 2004 to 2020.
Hood was first elected Attorney General in 2003, defeating Republican Scott Newton. A former district attorney, Hood succeeded fellow Democrat Mike Moore. Hood announced on October 3, 2018, that he would run for Governor of Mississippi in 2019; he easily won the Democratic primary on August 6, 2019 but lost the general election to then-Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves on November 5, 2019, which was Hood's first statewide loss. No Democrat has won a statewide election in Mississippi since Hood won his final term as Attorney General in 2015. He is the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Mississippi, and from 2008 to 2020 was the only one to do so.
Since leaving office, Hood has joined the national law firm Weisbrod Matteis & Copley, establishing the firm's first Mississippi-based office in Houston, Mississippi.[1] He also sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.[2]