Mississippi Democratic Party Chair Tyree Irving resigned over the weekend amid pressure from fellow party members who feared he may have jeopardized a $250,000 donation from the Democratic National Committee following a tirade against another state party official. The Democrats have not yet announced a successor.
“The past week has been very stressful for me, and especially my family, due to the circulation of false and misleading information impugning my name and reputation, while we are trying to plan for a successful election this year. Regrettably, today I must inform you of my intent to resign as Chairman, effective at midnight, July 22, 2023,” he said in a letter to party leaders early Sunday morning. SuperTalk’s J.T. Mitchell first reported the resignation.
Irving, who previously served as a Mississippi Court of Appeals judge, accepted the role as chair in 2020. Last week, Mississippi Today reported that following a call about the funds on June 22, the chair emailed DNC Senior Adviser Libby Schneider urging the party to also “make an equal investment” in Democrat Brandon Presley’s campaign for governor.
The report said Mississippi Democratic Party State Executive Director Andre Wagner replied to the email thread the following day, saying that “the chair misunderstood” and that “we plan to use the funds in accordance with Mississippi law and will use the funds in support of electing Democrats up and down the ticket.” The report said he added that “we also acknowledge that the DNC has not earmarked any funds for a particular candidate.”
The 77-year-old party chair sent a reply that included Wagner and the DNC officials in which he harshly criticized the state executive director, Mississippi Today reported.
“Mr. Wagner, you do not speak for the chair, and you are out of order,” Irving wrote, the report said. “I am an accomplished jurist. I know and understand things that you cannot know or understand because: you do not have the education level, you do not possess the personal or vicarious experience that I have, and you know nothing about the historical political landscape of Mississippi. You are not in a
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