Ronnie Musgrove

David Ronald Musgrove (born July 29, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2004. A Democrat, he previously served as the 29th lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 1996 to 2000. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2008 special election for one of Mississippi's seats in the United States Senate, losing to incumbent Senator Roger Wicker. Musgrove is a principal at a public affairs consulting firm, Politics. In 2014, he became founding partner of a new law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, Musgrove/Smith Law. Early life David Ronald "Ronnie" Musgrove was born on July 29, 1956, in Sardis, Mississippi. He was raised in Tocowa and the city of Batesville. He had four siblings. His mother was a textile factory worker and his father was a road crew worker for the Mississippi Highway Department. When Musgrove was seven years old, his father caught pneumonia while laboring during a snowstorm and died. He attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Mississippi School of Law. State Senate In 1987, Musgrove ran for the District 10 seat of the Mississippi State Senate, representing Panola and Tate counties, which was being vacated by its incumbent. He defeated Price Darby in an August Democratic primary runoff and won the November general election. After being seated in January 1988, Musgrove was appointed vice chairman of the Senate's Universities and Colleges Committee and made a member of the Education Committee. Despite rumors that he would seek the office of Attorney General of Mississippi in 1991, Musgrove chose to seek reelection to the Senate. He ran unopposed and was reelected. At the onset of his second term in January 1992, he was named chairman of the Education Committee.