Lobbying and Government Relations 2020
Mississippi's Top 50 Most Influential
Hayes Dent got his first paycheck in politics and government as a 16-year-old in 1978. Since then, he has worked in and managed dozens of political campaigns, lead state and federal agencies, worked for two United States presidents and three Mississippi governors and been a candidate for the United States Congress.
Dent is a combat veteran of the first Gulf War where President George H.W. Bush awarded him the Bronze Star Medal. In 2003, with his wife, Carolyn, he took a break from government service to help carefully raise their three children.
Today, Dent is the president of Hayes Dent Public Strategies, a public affairs and public relations firm he founded in 2004. His reputation is backed by political and governmental successes garnered on the statewide, regional and national platforms. His access to key decision-makers and voices of influence at all levels of public and private services eclipses the reach of virtually all colleagues in his field. The strategic advice and counsel he offers is considered second to none.