A
Democrat, in 1829 he served as a Selectman in Vicksburg. In 1835 McNutt was elected to the
Mississippi State Senate. In 1837 he was elected President of the Senate. McNutt ran successfully for governor
in 1837 and
in 1839, serving two terms from 1838 to 1842. During his term Mississippi founded its state library and procured land for construction of a state university, and construction was completed on the state penitentiary. The northern boundary with the State of Tennessee was resurveyed, but the new boundary did not result in more territory for Mississippi and the new city of Memphis proved to outside the bounds of the survey which had been an aim for some of the advocates of the resurvey. During his governorship, McNutt opposed central banking, including Mississippi's Planters and Union Banks, in which the state had large ownership stakes, arguing that the stockholders and managers were corrupt. The banks sold bonds in an effort to raise revenue, which the state repudiated under McNutt's influence, leaving the state with a large debt. After leaving office he resumed practicing law. In 1847 he ran unsuccessfully for the
United States Senate, losing to
Henry S. Foote. In 1848, McNutt campaigned for the presidential ticket headed by
Lewis Cass and was a candidate for presidential elector. While in
Desoto County, he became ill and died on October 22, 1848. He was buried in
Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson, Section 6, Lot 57. ==Legacy==