Republican Gov. Phil Bryant on Monday repeated his long-held position that the state should keep the flag as is.
"A vast majority of Mississippians voted to keep the state's flag, and I don't believe the Mississippi Legislature will act to supersede the will of the people on this issue," Bryant said in a statement.
Mississippi voters decided by a 2-to-1 margin in 2001 to keep the state flag that has been used since 1894. It features the Confederate battle emblem -- a blue X with 13 stars, over a red field.
