MISSISSIPPI MATTERS.

Longtime journalist and entrepreneur Garthia Elena Zabate Halbert brings a deep understanding of Mississippi’s people, communities and traditions to the gubernatorial race. Rooted in traditional Mississippi values of family, faith, hard work, personal responsibility and community, she believes those principles can serve as a foundation for building a stronger future. Halbert pairs those values with forward-thinking ideas designed to move Mississippi beyond old challenges and toward new opportunities. Her vision places health at the forefront by advocating for stronger communities, greater access to quality care and a healthier Mississippi workforce. In wealth creation, she seeks to expand entrepreneurship, support small businesses, attract meaningful investment and create opportunities for families to build lasting economic security. In education, she envisions a system that prepares Mississippi students not only for college, but also for skilled careers, entrepreneurship and leadership in a changing economy. Garthia Elena Zabate Halbert’s campaign is ultimately about honoring where Mississippi comes from while boldly pursuing where Mississippi can go—one band, one sound, one Mississippi.

First Amendment Advocate

Garthia Elena Zabate Halbert has built a distinguished career as a glass-ceiling-breaking journalism leader, award-winning writer and editor whose work has spanned publications throughout the South and Northeast. Her journalism career has included newsroom leadership, reporting, education writing and freelance work, including service as managing editor of The Commercial Dispatch Publishing Co. and education writer for The Winchester Star. Her published work has covered government, education, business, community affairs and issues affecting everyday people, reflecting a commitment to journalism that informs rather than simply entertains.

Throughout her career, Halbert has embraced journalism’s role as a watchdog for the public. Her reporting has examined powerful institutions, major economic developments, government decisions and disputes involving public organizations. Her work has appeared in the historical record of important community and institutional controversies, including reporting on the legal battle involving the Mississippi University for Women Alumnae Association and the university. She has demonstrated that effective journalism requires more than asking questions—it requires persistence, public-records research, accountability and the willingness to follow a story wherever the facts lead.

As a writer and editor, Halbert has championed freedom of information and the principle that citizens have a right to know what their government and institutions are doing in their name. Her approach places accountability at the center of the journalistic mission: challenging Big Business when corporate power affects communities, scrutinizing local and state officials when decisions deserve examination and asking national leaders the questions that powerful people would sometimes rather avoid. Her career represents a determination to break barriers not only for herself, but for a stronger, more independent press—one willing to give Everyman a voice and insist that those entrusted with power answer to the public.