Seventy years ago today, my parents got married in the living room of a justice of the peace.
Back in 1956, they were so poor that Mom didn’t have an engagement ring. In fact, it wasn’t until their 17th wedding anniversary that Dad could finally afford to buy her one.
Years later, Mom gave me that very same ring to give to my wife, Amy, for our engagement. Amy still wears it to this day.
In the years after their wedding, Dad became a school principal, changing schools every few years—working in places like Houlka, South Pontotoc, and Vardaman. Mom worked as his secretary and, at other times, as a teacher’s aide.
Working in education didn’t pay much, so they struggled. Mom’s favorite answer to just about anything I asked for was, “We can’t afford it.” That was on top of the pressures of raising three children, including a sick son who nearly died in 1976. (That son was me, by the way.)
By the grace of God, Mom and Dad kept the vows they made in that living room: for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as they both lived. Fred and Brenda Wilson remained together for almost 64 years, until Dad died in 2020; Mom followed him in 2022.
Those two dirt-poor kids from Mississippi left my sisters and me something worth far more than the ring it took Dad 17 years to afford: the example of what it means to keep your word when keeping it isn’t easy. They taught that lesson by living it.
A wedding vow is a promise made in front of witnesses. Every election carries a promise too: the State gives its word that every lawful vote will count and that the same rules will apply to everyone.
I saw firsthand how much depends on that promise as lead counsel in a Hinds County election contest, where I won a trial-court order for a new election.
That brings me to my news.
On what would have been my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary, I’m announcing my candidacy for the 2027 Republican nomination for Mississippi Secretary of State — the State’s chief election officer.
I may never fully measure up to the example my parents set. But with God’s help, I intend to honor it by keeping my word, protecting every lawful vote, and applying the same rules to everyone — even when doing so isn’t easy.
Mom and Dad spent almost 64 years proving that a promise means something. I intend to prove it too.
I’d be honored to have your help.
Paid for by Matt Wilson for Mississippi, PO Box 3069, Tupelo, MS 38803. Approved by Matt Wilson.
Background for reporters: Wilson filed the first merits-stage amicus brief supporting President Trump in Trump v. United States.