TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi sheriff said in a text message to another white elected official that a Hispanic state lawmaker is "worse than a black person."

  

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal used a public records request to obtain Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson's messages.

  

The newspaper reports Johnson exchanged messages in 2017 with Lee County Supervisor Phil Morgan about building a new jail. Both men complained about state Rep. Shane Aguirre. A screenshot of the exchange shows Johnson wrote: "He's worse than a black person, your not going to please him."

  

Johnson tells the newspaper he was "aggravated" but should not have mentioned race.

  

Asked if he believes black people are difficult to please, Johnson said: "I think when you play the race card, yes, it's difficult to please some people."