Service Commission in 1955 as its northern district member. The two other members of the commission decided to name Phillips as the body's chairman upon their assumption of office. He and the rest of the commission were sworn-in on January 16, 1956. During his tenure the commission's regulatory authority was strengthened and it successfully litigated the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company to lower its rates for Mississippi customers. He announced his resignation from the Public Service Commission on December 20, 1957 to join a law firm in Jackson. Governor J. P. Coleman appointed his brother, Thomas, to succeed him on the commission. His resignation went into effect on January 1, 1958. In 1959 he worked on a campaign advisory committee for Ross Barnett. Party switch and 1963 gubernatorial campaign Phillips opposed the nomination of John F. Kennedy as the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1960 and voted for the slate of unpledged electors during the general election. In late 1962 he began consulting Wirt Yerger Jr. on the possibility of him running for the office of governor of Mississippi with the backing of the Mississippi Republican Party, which Yerger chaired. After several weeks of public speculation, on December 20, Phillips formally announced his decision to run as a Republican in the 1963 Mississippi gubernatorial election, making him the first Republican gubernatorial candidate in Mississippi since George L. Sheldon ran in 1947. He justified his switch in party affiliation by arguing that the Republican Party offered Mississippi "a program of genuine conservatism and local responsibility" and accusing the "National Democratic Party" of promoting socialism. Political columnist Bill Minor said of his party switch, "I really believe he converted to Republicanism as a political opportunity to raise money to run. I never saw him as adopting the philosophy." Like his Democratic opponent, Paul B. Johnson Jr., Phillips' campaign was dominated by appeals to white supremacy and race-baiting, arguing that Republicans were better suited to protect Jim Crow racial segregation in the state than Democrats. He declared in one campaign appearance, "I was born a segregationist, I am for segregation now, and I will be for segregation when I die." He attempted to link Johnson with President Kennedy, using the campaign slogan "K.O. the Kennedys", and stated that he would help U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater get elected president in 1964. He also stated that a strong two-party system in the state would