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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

What Halloween costumes should Mississippi’s 2015 election candidates wear?

Robert “Silent Knight” Gray, truck driver and Democratic governor candidate—Optimus Prime

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn and Gov. Phil Bryant—Three Hinds County judges

Jim Hood—A rainbow camouflage jumpsuit, because he’s a huntin’, fishin’, death-penalty lovin’ … Democrat

Joce Pritchett, candidate for state auditor—Supergirl

Mike Hurst, attorney general candidate—Ghostbusters outfit with “Obama + Jim Hood” written everywhere in Sharpie

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann—Oddly, he shows up in a Delbert Hosemann mask, but wearing a skin-tight shiny metallic bodysuit.

State Auditor Stacy Pickering—Uncle Scrooge (“Tiny Tim,” not “Duck Tales”)

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.