Mississippi House Rep. Vince Mangold, the vice chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is putting his hat in the race to be the state’s next commissioner of agriculture and commerce, he announced on Sept. 4.
“He wants to help prepare the next generation of Mississippi farmers to take over the family operation, promote Mississippi agriculture nationally and globally, support local growers, and increase our capacity to provide food security to Mississippians,” a Sept. 4 press release from Mangold says. “Mangold has also pledged to oppose foreign adversaries, including China, from purchasing Mississippi farmland, and to ensure strong enforcement of the state’s food labeling and food inspection laws.”
The representative has served House District 43 since 2016 when he defeated 32-year incumbent Democrat and House Minority Leader Bobby Moak. The district includes Franklin, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Lincoln and Pike counties.
Mangold is also the chairman of the House Ethics Committee and serves on the committees for Appropriations; Conservation and Water Resources; Education; Forestry; Transportation; and Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
Plant-based faux meat products and other food made without animals but resembling common meat products cannot have meat or meat-food product labels under the representative’s House Bill 913, which became law in 2025.
Local law enforcement now issue Purple Alerts in emergency situations for a missing person who has a mental, physical or emotional disability that is not Alzheimer’s, dementia or caused by substance abuse under a 2024 law that Mangold cosponsored.
A self-employed poultry and cattle farmer in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Mangold previously worked as a professional in the lumber industry for 24 years. He is a member of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association and a board member of the Lincoln County Farm Bureau. The representative holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and an associate’s degree from Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
“I will be the loudest voice for every farmer in Mississippi,” Mangold said in his press release. “From the State Capitol to Washington, I will fight for our agriculture industries at every level.”
Mangold joins Republican Kyle Cockrell in the bid to be the state’s next commissioner of agriculture and commerce. Incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson is running for governor in the 2027 election.
Cockrell is a former chairman of the Smith County Republican Party who unsuccessfully ran for Mississippi House District 79 in 2023. He lost to Rep. Mark Tullos, who has served the district since 2016, in the Republican primary, and Tullos coasted to reelection without another opponent. Cockrell is the third-generation owner of Cockrell’s Farmers Market in Brandon, Mississippi.
“I have a heart for the people in Agriculture and the state of Mississippi,” Cockrell said in a Sept. 9 Facebook post. “I know how stressful it is to just hang on and do everything you can to make ends meet. It’s time to put in a common man in that will stand for you and not a polished politician that will do what ever to move up the ladder in politics. If we all come together and stand together we can get our Agriculture department fixed in Mississippi.”
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