Voters will frequently hear politicians push for term limits, but not too often do they hear politicians ask for their own positions to go from elected to appointed. But in Mississippi, the current insurance commissioner is doing just that.
Mike Chaney, a Republican who has been elected five times since 2007, circled back on Wednesday to a talking point he ran on nearly two decades ago: to join most other states in having an appointed insurance commissioner. Chaney said the reasoning is campaign funds and regulating insurance companies don’t mix well when money is needed to win an election.
“We’re regulatory in nature. To be a good regulator, you can’t be at the whisps and whims of lobbyists and the insurance companies,” Chaney said during an appearance on The Gallo Show.
“If you’re going to be elected, you have to raise money. And I don’t think it’s proper to take money from an insurance company and then try to regulate them,” he continued. “That’s always something I’ve been very concerned about. I said that in 2007 when I first ran that I would look at it. I think the time’s come that we’ve got to look at it.”
With Mississippi being one of 11 states with an elected insurance commissioner, large insurance companies have been able to successfully swoop in and play a role in who wins the position.
Chaney has been criticized in the past for accepting money from insurance companies. Through his first two election cycles, Chaney ranked No. 5 on the list of elected commissioners with north of $143,000 raised in campaign finance funds through the insurance industry. During the most recent campaign’s final period, in 2023, Chaney accepted around $7,000 from insurance companies.
The Republican, who is now 80 years old and has just over three years left in his fifth term, is more than likely nearing the end of his political career and wants to ensure commissioners of the future don’t have to fall victim to insurance companies prying their way into elections. He said ahead of the 2025 legislative session, he will request lawmakers look into passing a bill to make Mississippi the 40th state in which the position is appointed by either the governor or a commission.
“We’re going to make a push around the state to let citizens know why we’re doing this,” Chaney said. “We’ll ask the legislature to make that decision. That’s their decision.”
It’s unclear where the Republican-controlled legislature stands on the matter. The upcoming session begins on Jan. 7.
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