Rep. Robert L Johnson III

EVERY DEMOCRAT in the Mississippi House of Representatives stood together to vote against HB 2 , a bill that will take public money and give it to private schools without the same accountability that Public schools have to abide by.

First responders are upset that #MSleg Republicans gutted the retirement system. wlox.com/2025/11/16/mis…

@Sophia8007 Deer

@RepRJohnson This is so cool, Are they going for deer, or is it a different kind of hunt?

This is Fathers Day to me my 85 year old Dad and My 25 year old son headed to their deer stands walking together! I was there too.😁It is special for us.👊🏾

@alldspeed @John_Horhn @TheDemocrats @msdemocrats @SenDTSimmons @SenDavidBlount @BGThompsonMS @kenmartin73 @DLCC It’s more likely the other way around. The legislative races are going to drive the judicial elections. Voters just don’t get how important judicial elections are they never have.

@John_Horhn @TheDemocrats @msdemocrats @RepRJohnson @SenDTSimmons @SenDavidBlount @BGThompsonMS @kenmartin73 @DLCC A listener suggested that the special election for judge in the 12th circuit district (Forrest and Perry Counties) may boost turnout favoring the MSGOP candidate in the SD45 special election since they're on the same ballot. Barbour agrees.

🧵 MSGOP's comms arm Magnolia Tribune portrayed the DNC's investment in MS's special elections next month as "money pouring in," but GOP strategist Henry Barbour changed course yesterday and now says the DNC's investment is "not that much," paying for just "a mail piece or two."

Rep. Robert Johnson III of Natchez, leader of Mississippi House Democrats, says the GOP leadership's push for "school choice" is out of touch with rank-and-file Mississippians, many Republican lawmakers and educators. buff.ly/iT76iKC

@alldspeed @grgibert @B_B_Bear1992 @MidDaysGerard @supertalk @grantcallen @SenDTSimmons @KabirKarriem @cheikh_taylor @JasonWhiteMS @msdemocrats @bill_cork_ms @MichaelWatsonMS The problem is that leadership doesn’t want discussion they want capitulation and that’s not happening.

@alldspeed @grgibert @B_B_Bear1992 @MidDaysGerard @supertalk @grantcallen @SenDTSimmons @KabirKarriem @cheikh_taylor @JasonWhiteMS @msdemocrats @bill_cork_ms @MichaelWatsonMS We are open but no one is talking to us .

Yesterday, on @MidDaysGerard @supertalk , I provided a rather scathing rebuke of an op ed about education freedom distributed by the MS Democratic Party. Entitled “Mississippi’s Children Deserve Strong Public Schools Rooted in Dignity and Fairness—Not False Choices,” the 4 Democrat legislators who authored the piece contend that empowering parents to choose the optimum education setting for their children is detrimental to public schools. Of course, the requisite race theme was weaved into their flawed narrative. I noted on the air that the piece included several em dashes and a line break in the middle of a paragraph, often indicators of AI-generated content. Within less than an hour after the show concluded, the MS Democratic Party issued a press release recalling the op ed. Coincidence?

@iwrite2praise @SenDavidBlount Robert needs a little sun😳

@SenDavidBlount @RepRJohnson You guys look so much alike. I can understand their confusion! 😕

Hey @RepRJohnson !

@alldspeed @grantcallen @JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @StarlaMBrown Won’t happen ! Because we won’t have the money

@grantcallen @RepRJohnson @JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @StarlaMBrown Hold that thought until January when we find out if the Senate's teacher pay raise bill is written to send money to districts full of teacher vacancies or if it's written to subsidize low property taxes in wealthy districts.

I'm pleased to see @JasonWhiteMS's school choice agenda turn away from D/F districts toward areas of the state where choice policies would make more sense.

@grantcallen @alldspeed @JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @StarlaMBrown It’s good to know that “ Education Freedom” is your program and not the Speakers program.

Education freedom isn't a gimmick and I don't run a national think tank. I'm a 6th generation Mississippian who cares about delivering to every student the kind of education currently reserved for those lucky enough to live in a great district, those loaded enough to pay for private school tuition, or those willing to lie about their residency. There has to be another way.

@grantcallen @alldspeed @JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @StarlaMBrown What are you talking about ? Of course we are spending more because everything cost more it’s 2025! And guess what in the bottom 5 (45th in per student spending based on my research ) We rank in the bottom 5! Just stop

Mississippi is spending $14,676 per student per year in public education, more than we've ever spent, yet much of that isn't getting to the classroom. Thanks to the new funding formula, poor districts are getting a lot more per student than wealthy districts. When will we say "Maybe it's not the amount of the funding, but who controls it that matters most." I trust parents.

@grantcallen @alldspeed @JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @StarlaMBrown Correction didn’t mean “ forced to neighborhood schools “ meant to type the same people supported the concept of neighborhood schools” who now want people to leave their neighborhoods!

Sounds like a gimmick because we already have “education freedom” it’s called public education ! It was created more than 100 years ago with premise that no matter how poor a child was or how poor his or her community was or what race he or she was they would get the same education as the child with wealth. The state made a commitment to fill in the gap until we didn’t. Then we were forced to neighborhood schools 😳! Wow! Now we want them to leave their communities instead of the state stepping in paying teachers and building great schools in communities where these children live. By the way I’m an 8th generation Mississippian 4 free and by choice!

@alldspeed @JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @grantcallen @StarlaMBrown Why don’t we stop with the gimmicks and the national think tank political agendas.

@JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @RepRJohnson @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @grantcallen @StarlaMBrown Of course, those things are not school choice, and what Jason wants is clearly to pass school choice. To that end, I encourage Democrats to try to get to yes on some specific school choice ideas if some of their own priorities go into the package as well.

It would not be as large a problem if this State was committed to helping to create self sustaining economic development ( increased local ad valorem tax bases) that could support those under performing schools. But at every opportunity the leadership is n this state continues to turn its back. These communities don’t need handouts they need a fair opportunity to succeed.

You’re alarmed !? Well try illustrating these observations to the leadership in this state and spending every session fighting to make sure we don’t divert public money to private schools and now we will spend a whole session arguing about school choice instead of addressing issues like how to address in person teachers or other challenges poor districts face that are all rooted in inadequate funding!

@JasonWhiteMS @robroberson43 @KentMcCarty @JansenOwen @RepRJohnson @DelbertHosemann @SenDTSimmons @SenDenDeBar @SenDavidBlount @grantcallen @StarlaMBrown To that end, I'm increasingly alarmed that Mississippi is normalizing the idea that poor areas simply don't have in-person teachers for important classes in the core curriculum, so we'll just broadcast in an MPB teacher or offer a virtual charter or something of that sort.

@HigherEdWorks This is realtime proof of what school vouchers do to public school funding! We must make sure we protect public school funding in Mississippi and not let this happen here.

NC lawmakers are funneling millions into private school vouchers while public schools face deep cuts, staff shortages, and crumbling facilities — and they don’t seem to care. #NCed publicedworks.org/2025/06/our-op…

@joenosef Thanks Joe it is a blessing.

@RepRJohnson That is awesome Robert. You are a blessed man that you can have all of you together like that.