Fielding L. Wright graduated with a law degree and was admitted to the legal bar in 1916. He spent several years in private practice before transitioning to a leadership role within the Democratic Party. Wright became known for his ardent segregationist stance, particularly in opposition to the desegregation of public schools. He was selected as Mississippi's national committeeman to the Democratic National Committee and supported the Democratic presidential ticket in 1952. In 1955, Wright announced his candidacy for governor, framing himself as a staunch segregationist and pledging to use state power to prevent integration.

Fielding L. Wright's political identity is marked by his staunch segregationist stance, which he wielded as a central pillar of his public persona. Despite being part of the Democratic Party, Wright's ideological positioning reveals an unexpected rigidity on racial issues, framing himself as an ardent segregationist opposed to school desegregation. His rhetorical style is confrontational, leveraging his segregationist beliefs to position himself as a defender of traditional Southern values against civil rights advancements. This highly localized approach to civil rights issues, combined with his strategic silence on economic policies, suggests a calculated effort to galvanize a specific voter base. Wright's political maneuvers reveal a tension between his party affiliation and his deeply divisive policy stances.