Reeves Campaigns for Buck Clarke
Tate Reeves, who is waiting on the formality that is the November 8 election before he can be referred to as lieutenant governor-elect, was in the Delta last week joining Sen. Buck Clarke on several campaign stops. Clarke is facing changing demographics that makes this one of the more competitive Senate seats this fall. Obviously Reeves would love to have him back in January when he takes over as head of the Senate.
In a press release, Reeves said this about Clarke: “Buck Clarke is one of the most well-respected members of the Senate. Buck voted to balance our budget without raising taxes, and he’s supported job training programs critical to the Delta. I’m supporting Buck Clarke, and I hope Delta voters will give him a third term in the Senate.”
And Clarke said this about Reeves: “I appreciate Tate spending the day campaigning with me, and I’m very grateful for his support. Tate shares my belief that a balanced budget, low taxes and fewer regulations on small businesses will help create more private sector jobs.”
Finding even nominal opposition to Reeves, ala Shawn O’Hara in 2007, would have at least forced him to spend some time on his own campaign rather than open his schedule to work for Republicans throughout the state.
Barbour hosts fundraiser for Gunn. Haley Barbour will be hosting a reception for Rep. Philip Gunn on Thursday in Ridgeland. Gunn does have a Democratic opponent this November, but that shouldn’t give the incumbent much trouble as he seeks a third term for his Clinton based district.
The real question about Gunn is what he does after November. Does he run for Speaker? He would be a strong candidate, and certainly has his supporters. Check out this Facebook group for more information on that.
Here is the invite.
A.G. candidates to appear together October 3. I guess this isn’t officially a debate, but Attorney General Jim Hood and his Republican challenger, Steve Simpson, will participate in a candidate forum on October 3 in Jackson at the Stennis-Capitol Press Luncheon.
According to a release from the Stennis-Capitol Press Luncheon, each candidate will speak for 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes of questions from the press corp. More information can be found on the group’s website here.
Quick look at HD 83 and HD 102 races. A couple stories of interest from legislative elections in these two districts.
** Rep. Greg Snowden faces a difficult re-election in November in a Meridian based district with a BVAP in the high 40s. Four years ago, he got a pass when Democrats failed to field a candidate. They got one this year.
Gary Houston is the Democratic nominee and he recently received an endorsement from the Legislative Black Caucus. Houston is black so that’s not really a surprise. But there is probably more to this. Along with Snowden and Houston, independent Sam Thompson is also in the race. Thompson is also black and stands to take votes from Houston- if he gets any votes. Obviously the LBC wants to make sure black voters check off Houston’s name.
** The Hattiesburg American had a profile on the Hattiesburg area HD 102 race featuring Rep. Toby Baker, who is running for a second term, and Democrat David Cook. As we have seen on a number of occasions with Democrats throughout the state, there is a desire to downplay party labels.
Here is a note from the article: “Cook, who ran unopposed in the primary, said he is hoping to appeal to voters who ‘don’t vote the party vote, necessarily, but vote the person.’”
As for Cook, he has some famous political blood in his family. His grandmother was Evelyn Gandy, who was the first female elected to statewide office in Mississippi.
Wikipedia page says Evelyn Gandy was never married and had no children.
Pretty interesting. I took that line directly from the HA article:
“Cook, who has worked as a medical administrator and consultant for the past 15 years, was a pre-teen when his grandmother, Evelyn Gandy, ran for office.”
Seems to me, Gunn may be the second or third candidate in any Speaker’s race. No one wants a slate of all Leadership (Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker) from the Metro area. OMG, you talking about being out of touch with Mississippi. Most members of the Legislature I have talked to favor some one less extreme than Gunn such as Frierson or Smith
Gunn is “extreme” huh? Considering those who’ve been calling folks extremists lately, and the targets of their rhetoric, us bitter clingers, I think you may have just given him a compliment.
Travis, my friend it does not matter what you and I think, but the Members of the Legislature are the ones saying Gunn is too far to the right to lead. Why go from too far to the left to, too far to the right. I suppose when Barry Goldwater said “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice” and then lost almost every state in the union, was right in his beliefs. Why not have a Speaker with the ability to deal with both sides and govern from the middle, and not from the left or the right?
Goldwater won 87% in Mississippi by the way.
Touche’ Travis, but if someone other than Goldwater had been running, and we had kept LBJ out of office, think of where we’d be without “The Voting Rights Act of 1965″ and Medicaid? I have no doubt Goldwater was a good man as is Gunn, but those too far to the left or right, do not engender board support, and thus we get people such as LBJ.