Will Third-Party Candidates Help Dems in Mississippi?

Stuart Rothenberg with the Rothenberg Political Report recently wrote about the potential of third party candidates playing a significant role in several House and Senate elections throughout the country. While Democrats still talk about Ralph Nader and 2000, this time around Democrats are hoping these generally conservative, anti-incumbent, anti-Washington candidates will siphon off the GOP vote and allow the respective Democrats to win another term with under 50 percent.

That is where many of those states differ with Mississippi. Mississippi, like most of the South (save for Florida), requires 50 percent plus one to win an election so generally speaking a third-party candidate can not allow an endangered incumbent to escape. That said, they can still muddy the waters and keep someone from winning outright- sending it to a runoff where you never know what will happen with the usually extremely low turnout.

This year, there are seven third-party or independent candidates running in MS-01, two in MS-04 and one each in MS-02 and MS-03. Most of the time you don’t even known a third-party candidate is running, but especially with Tea Party groups, they may very well be able to make a name for themselves on the right.

Nunnlee gives his opinion on DOJ lawsuit against Arizona. Alan Nunnelee used Twitter yesterday to make a point about the federal lawsuit against Arizona’s new immigration laws and illegal immigration in general.

Nunnelee2010: Suing Arizona for simply enforcing federal immigration laws? Washington is out of touch with our concerns.

Nunnelee2010: Illegal immigration costs our state $106 million per year. It’s time for Congress to fix the problem.

Clarion-Ledger labels immigration the new civil rights struggle. In the opinion piece today, the Clarion-Ledger says this about the immigration debate:

The entire process – reactionary state legislative actions addressing questions of federal law and concomitant shows of federal might in response – is reminiscent of the time when Mississippi was on the point of the political and social spear during the civil rights era.

Now, it seems there is a new civil rights struggle in America. Immigration is no less divisive an issue than was segregation and, like it, the issue is fraught with dangers. Some fear that the federal lawsuit against Arizona’s law will polarize the debate to an even greater degree and entrench the American public in simplistic political positions on what is the most complex of problems.

Comprehensive immigration reforms requires secure borders, real punishment for employers, a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and that partisanship be set aside.

Brian Perry looks at out-of-state politicians who have made Mississippi their target. In light of comments by a Minnesota columnist who made several disparaging remarks about Mississippi in a failed attempt at humor as to why Brett Favre should stay in Minnesota, Perry takes a walk down memory lane of recent politicians who have used Mississippi as a punching bag. This includes Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), state Rep. Jack Franks (D-IL), then-Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), along with Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls in Massachusetts and Minnesota earlier this year.

These were all Democrats making comments about one of the most conservative states in the nation. Some will say Mississippi deserves it or they are just pointing out less than flattering information about the Magnolia State but I don’t see too many Democrats knocking a state like New Mexico- a Democratic, majority-minority state- even though it usually ranks right around Mississippi in whatever the latest statistics are.

When these out-of-state Democrats are attacking the state, you generally hear very little from state Democrats. They are simply in a tricky situation. But I wonder if any Democrats will ever take the comments on and say something to the extent that their criticizing us for a reason and here is what we can do about it. In Georgia, gubernatorial hopeful Roy Barnes- a Democrat- released an ad where he said, “We can’t bring jobs to Georgia with the rest of the country laughing at us.” I don’t see that flying in Mississippi.

Les Green from Jacinto. Check out this link for video of Les Green’s speech at the Jacinto Festival over the weekend. Green is running as an Independent candidate in MS-01.