JACKSON, Miss.–Ty Pinkins is big on his Delta heritage, and he talked about it in his formal announcement Monday that he’s running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate. Pinkins, of Rolling Fork, said he will take the values that have shaped him to Washington if elected.
“We need an economy that works for all Mississippians, not just the wealthy, but the middle class and low-income communities, as well,” he said, speaking in the state Capitol rotunda.
Pinkins criticized Wicker, saying he has been in Washington for two decades, with that time not resulting in better jobs being created in the state.
Pinkins, an attorney, said his father and mother, who had little formal education, took him to a cotton field one day when he was 13. That day, he learned to chop cotton, an occupation that he said almost broke his spirit and that kept him busy until he went to the military.
After the announcement, Pinkins held an open house at his Vicksburg campaign office.
Wicker also faces two Republican challengers in this year’s Senate primary.
