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Neshoba County Fair

Mississippi candidates for statewide office pitched their case at the Neshoba County Fair on July 31 and Aug. 1, 2019. The fair in Philadelphia, Miss., is one of the biggest political events each year in the state. Its long history includes a speech from then-GOP nominee for President Ronald Reagan, who delivered a racially-coded speech on “state’s rights” at the fair in 1980 immediately after winning his party’s nomination. Confederate flags still fly on cabins at the fair, though Mississippi state flags are now a more common sight. This year’s speakers included candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and more.

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Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, now the Democratic nominee for governor, speaks to fairgoers at their cabin at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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A supporter of former Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree, who is now the Democratic nominee for Mississippi Secretary of State, holds up a sign at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., on July 31, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Former Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree is now the Democratic nominee for Mississippi Secretary of State. He spoke at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., on July 31, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Former Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole, a 2019 candidate for secretary of agriculture, spoke at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., on Aug. 31, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman.

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Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, speaks to a young boy at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Mississippi House Rep. Jay Hughes, a 2019 Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, spoke at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 31, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann pitched his case for voters to make him lieutenant governor at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller, seen here at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 31, 2019, is a GOP candidate for governor. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Fairgoers enjoy the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 31, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Young supporters of Republican candidate for Mississippi governor Bill Waller talk and laugh among themselves at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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At the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., Larry Eubanks carries a bundle of Mississippi state flags that he hands out to fellow fairgoers. Here, he wears a -shirt styled like an American flag on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Confederate flags and Mississippi state flags adorn many of the cabins at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss. Seen here on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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At the Neshoba County Fair, people hang out on the porches of colorfully decorated cabins, like this one, seen here on Aug. 1, 2019 flying a Trump flag and a Mississippi flag. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Mississippi House Representative Robert Foster, who was a 2019 GOP candidate for governor before coming in third in the Aug. 6 GOP primary, retired to this cabin for food and relaxation after speaking at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 1, 2019. It included a Trump flag, a Mississippi state flag, and a "Make Ole Miss Great Again" sign that refers to the University of Mississippi's decision to take down the state flag and remove its Confederate monuments. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Mississippi candidates for attorney general, Republican Andy Taggart (left) and Democrat Jennifer Riley Collins (right) shake hands before taking the stage at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 1, 2019. Taggart jokes that he wished he had Collins' campaign schedule; he had primary challengers, and she does not. He faces an Aug. 26 runoff with Treasurer Lynn Fitch. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Former Mississippi Senator Gloria Williamson holds up a sign to show her support for Jennifer Riley Collins at the Neshoba County Fair on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Gloria Williamson, who also once served as the head of the state Democratic Party, decorates the back porch of her cabin at the Neshoba County Fair with Jim Hood signs and her own vintage campaign sign. One wooden sign reads reads, "The main reason I support Jim Hood is because he's so damn cute!" Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Addie Lee Green, the lone Democratic candidate for Mississippi treasurer, waits for her turn to speak at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., on Aug. 1, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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Political memorabilia litters the ground at the 2019 Neshoba County Fair. Photo by Ashton Pittman.

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