Erik Robert Fleming (born February 2, 1965) is an American politician who was a member of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

representing the 72nd District (which includes parts of

Hinds Hinds may refer to: Places *Hinds, New Zealand, a small town *Hinds County, Mississippi, a US county *Hinds Lake, a lake in Minnesota *Hinds River, a river that flows through Hinds, New Zealand Other * A plural of deer, especially female deer (do ...

and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

counties) from 1999 to 2008. He has been the Democratic nominee twice for one of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. He faced incumbent Republican

Thad Cochran William Thad Cochran ( ; December 7, 1937 – May 30, 2019) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator for Mississippi from 1978 to 2018. A Republican, he previously served in the U.S. House of Representative ...

in the November 4, 2008 general election, and was defeated. Erik was the Director of Policy with the Mississippi chapter of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

(ACLU). He now resides in the metro Atlanta area and continues to advocate for African American issues as the host of the podcast, A Moment with Erik Fleming.

Early and personal life

Fleming was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to Joan and Robert Fleming, and attended Lindblom Technical High School. He majored in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

, became a brother of

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a national Mixed-sex education, coeducational Service fraternities and sororities, service Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It is the largest College fraterniti ...

while there, and graduated in 1987. Fleming worked with Mississippi Governor

Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. (; born October 11, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previo ...

in his 1987 campaign and Mike Parker in his campaign for the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

in 1988. Fleming is married to City of South Fulton, GA Councilwoman Linda Pritchett. He is the father of one son, Sean Christopher, and is a Christian. Erik has been a member of several organizations and boards, including the NAACP, the SCLC, the Mississippi Faith-Based Coalition for Community Renewal, the Mississippi Families for Kids, and the Jackson State University National Alumni Association.

Political career

Fleming was first elected to the

in a January 1999

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to finish the unexpired term of Tomie Green. He represented the 72nd District (which includes parts of

and

counties) from 1999 to 2008. He was defeated in the 2007 primary by Kimberly Campbell, who succeeded him in January 2008. Fleming ran against incumbent U.S. Senator

Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, author, and politician who represented Mississippi in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1989 and in the United States Senate from 1989 to 2007. ...

in the November 2006 election. There were four candidates In the June 6, 2006 Democratic primary; top two finishers were Fleming, who received 44 percent, and Hickory Flat business consultant Bill Bowlin, who received 22 percent. In the June 27 runoff between Fleming and Bowlin, Fleming received 65 percent. Fleming lost to Lott in the general election. Fleming served as President of the Young Democrats of Mississippi (1991–1992), Chair of the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee (1996–1999), National Committeeman of The Young Democrats of America (1993–1995), and as campaign manager for the Henry J. Kirksey for Mayor Campaign (1993). At one time Fleming expressed support for political activist

Lyndon LaRouche Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Jr. (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2019) was an American political activist who founded the LaRouche movement and its main organization, the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). He was a prominent conspiracy ...

, but has denounced him several times since.Erik Fleming's reply
November 16, 2006 Fleming worked previously as a paralegal for the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, an abstinence educator with the Mississippi Community Development Corporation, a non-profit agency located in his legislative district. Fleming has also served as chief operating officer for New Horizon Ministries, Inc., a non-profit agency in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

. Fleming won the Mississippi primary for the Democratic Party nomination and then went on and faced Senator

in Mississippi's November 2008 Senate election. Senator Cochran won by a landslide with over 61% of the vote and Fleming got only 38% of the vote.

References

External links

Erik Fleming for U.S. Senate
''official campaign website'' *
Campaign contributions
from

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Erik 1965 births African-American state legislators in Mississippi Jackson State University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Mississippi Legislature People from Clinton, Mississippi People from Ridgeland, Mississippi Politicians from Chicago Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Candidates in the 2008 United States elections 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians Robert Lindblom Math & Science Academy alumni African-American candidates for the United States Senate

Early and personal life

Political career

See also

References

External links