Ronnie Musgrove

David Ronald Musgrove (born July 29, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2004.

David Ronald "Ronnie" Musgrove was born on July 29, 1956, in Sardis, Mississippi.

He was raised in Tocowa and the city of Batesville.

He had four siblings.

His mother was a textile factory worker and his father was a road crew worker for the Mississippi Highway Department.

When Musgrove was seven years old, his father caught pneumonia while laboring during a snowstorm and died.

He attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Mississippi School of Law.

In 1987, Musgrove ran for the District 10 seat of the Mississippi State Senate, representing Panola and Tate counties, which was being vacated by its incumbent.

He defeated Price Darby in an August Democratic primary runoff and won the November general election.

After the governor vetoed the Mississippi Adequate Education Act in 1987, Musgrove lobbied for the legislature to override Fordice's decision.

After being seated in January 1988, Musgrove was appointed vice chairman of the Senate's Universities and Colleges Committee and made a member of the Education Committee.

Despite rumors that he would seek the office of Attorney General of Mississippi in 1991, Musgrove chose to seek reelection to the Senate.

He ran unopposed and was reelected.

At the onset of his second term in January 1992, he was named chairman of the Education Committee.

In 1995 Musgrove ran as the Democratic candidate for the office of lieutenant governor of Mississippi, facing one-term Republican incumbent Eddie Briggs.

Briggs refused to debate his opponent, and Musgrove accused him of hypocrisy for not releasing his tax returns when he had demanded the same of Brad Dye, whom he had defeated four years prior.

Briggs also distanced himself from Republican Kirk Fordice's gubernatorial reelection campaign due to personal differences between the two.

On November 7, the election was held and Musgrove won, taking 52 percent of the vote.

A Democrat, he previously served as the 29th lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 1996 to 2000.

He was sworn-in as lieutenant governor on January 4, 1996.

In an attempt to contrast himself from his predecessor, he began his tenure by indicating he was open to cooperation with Governor Fordice.

After Fordice was gravely injured in a car accident, Musgrove served as acting governor from November 7 to December 17, 1996.

While serving in an acting capacity in Fordice's absence, Musgrove limited his activities to signing proclamations, processing extraditions, declaring weather-related emergencies and making appointments recommended by Fordice's staff.

At the time, Musgrove was quoted as saying, "When we're confronted by these types of matters, politics has to be put on the back burner and we have to do the right thing."

After taking office, Musgrove named Black senators to chair several Senate committees, including those concerning the judiciary, constitution, elections, and universities and colleges.

Differences later emerged between Fordice and Musgrove over the latter's support of public education.

In 1998 Musgrove chaired the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.

As lieutenant governor, Musgrove was an ex officio member of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, chairing it in 1999.

His service on the board allowed him to garner significant experience in budgeting.

Shortly after being elected lieutenant governor, Musgrove was seriously injured in a car accident while traveling on official state business.

After the 1999 elections but before the official end of his tenure, Musgrove turned over the lieutenant governor's offices to Lieutenant Governor-elect Amy Tuck so as to ease her assumption of the position.

Musgrove ran for the office of governor in 1999, having hired a full-time fundraiser and a political consultant to mount such a campaign two years prior.

He won the August 3 Democratic primary, taking 57 percent of the vote and defeating former state Supreme Court justice Jim Roberts, though Roberts had damaged his credibility by questioning his use of state vehicles for campaign activities.

In the general election he faced Republican former U.S. Representative Mike Parker.

Musgrove focused on education advancements, running a series of television ads showcasing his accomplishments as lieutenant governor in supporting elementary and secondary school improvements.

He also ran a significant amount of campaign ads on Christian radio stations and espoused socially conservative positions such as opposition to abortion.

He was the Democratic nominee in the 2008 special election for one of Mississippi's seats in the United States Senate, losing to incumbent Senator Roger Wicker.

Musgrove is a principal at a public affairs consulting firm, Politics.

In 2014, he became founding partner of a new law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, Musgrove/Smith Law.

As of 2024, he is the last Democrat to hold the office of Governor of Mississippi.