Ty Pinkins

Pinkins was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, and in a Ballotpedia survey says he grew up there in a working-class family.[1] The Mississippi Free Press describes him as the son of Delta farmers and the first in his family to graduate from high school and college.[3] He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and government from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2012.[1]

Pinkins served in the U.S. Army from 1996 to 2017, which he describes as 21 years including three combat tours.[1] He worked as a presidential communications aide with the White House Communications Agency, serving, he says, under both Democratic and Republican presidents.[1] After retiring from the military he used the G.I. Bill to attend Georgetown University Law Center, earning a J.D. in 2020 and a master's degree in national security law in 2021.[1]

Pinkins went on to work as an attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice, where, according to the Mississippi Free Press, he represented residents of underserved Delta communities until 2023, and he has also owned a business; he describes himself as a Mississippi attorney and author.[1][3] He was the Democratic nominee for Mississippi Secretary of State in 2023, losing to incumbent Michael Watson 59.5% to 40.5%, and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2024, losing to incumbent Roger Wicker 62.8% to 37.2%.[1][3] He left the Democratic Party in July 2025 to run for the Senate seat as an independent.[3]