Mississippi Republican lawmaker Price Wallace has died at the age of 64, House Speaker Jason White announced.
“It is with heavy hearts we pause to reflect on the passing of our friend and colleague in the Mississippi House of Representatives, State Representative Price Wallace,” White wrote in a statement posted to social media.
Wallace represented District 77, which includes parts of Rankin and Simpson counties, since 2018. He was chair of the House Constitution Committee, a position he used to construct and pass several measures in the House to restore Mississippi’s ballot initiative process after it was stripped by the state Supreme Court in 2021.
Although Wallace’s legislation to allow residents to again propose law changes never made it through the Senate, White said Mississippians should remember his political career, in part, for his efforts to restore the process.
“He believed in restoring the constitutional right for Mississippians to have a far and accessible means of influencing state policy,” White’s statement continued.
Wallace will also be remembered for his cowboy hat, which he sported in his official legislative photo and often inside the capitol building, and his role in the state’s agriculture industry. He was a poultry farmer by trade and served on the House Agriculture Committee.
“Price Wallace was a stand up man you could always count on to come through in a pinch! If anyone has ever asked or reached out to me on an agriculture question, since I’m a concrete cowboy, I can promise you that Price was the one who ultimately answered it! He was the real deal!” Rep. Fred Shanks, a Republican who also serves part of Rankin County, wrote on social media after learning of Wallace’s passing.
Condolences have begun to flood social media with Mississippi Department of Transportation executive director Brad White saying Wallace was like family to him and Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson saying Wallace was “a good man and he will be missed.” Numerous other elected officials also shared messages of sympathy and support for Wallace’s family.
Wallace is survived by his wife, Cindy, children, and grandchildren. In addition to being a legislator and farmer, Wallace was a Simpson County election commissioner and board member at the Church of Mendenhall. The cause of death has not been released.
