The election sticker flap is another recent indicator that next year’s general election for Mississippi governor and lieutenant governor could be a heck of a lot more exciting than in 2015.
If Attorney General Jim Hood and State Rep. Jay Hughes are the Democratic nominees for the state’s top elective offices, you can expect competitive campaigns in November.
Neither is a nominee at this point, and there is no guarantee that either will be, given the party’s sometimes tendency to self-destruct in the primaries.
Last election, for example, the Democrat nominee for governor was an African-American truck driver who didn’t even take time to vote for himself in the primary.
The incumbent, Republican Phil Bryant, was a lock to be re-elected regardless of whom the Democrats nominated, but it could have been a little closer had the Democrats nominated a more credible candidate; at least one who would have gone to the polls to vote for himself and carry along a few relatives.
Four years earlier, Democrats also nominated an African-American for governor, then-Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree. He didn’t stand much chance against then Lt. Gov. Bryant. The fact, although some may not admit it, is that many Mississippians — probably the majority — will vote for a candidate of their own race if there is a choice to be made.
Since non-Hispanic whites make up about 58 percent of the state’s population to about 37 percent African-American and the majority of whites now identify as Republican, the only way a Democrat can win a statewide office is to draw a large black vote and a significant minority of white votes.
In Hood, if he runs — and it looks like he may — Democrats would have a candidate that has shown he can win a statewide election. Attorney general is the only statewide office the Republicans do not now control.
A campaign between Hood and the expected Republican nominee, current Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, would probably be a good old mud-slinging contest like some of those back in the latter part of the 20th Century before the majority of whites became Republicans.
Hood would likely try to paint Reeves as a well-financed urbanite power broker. Reeves would try to hang the “liberal” tag on Hood.
Unlike Hood, who is yet to announce his intentions while his wife prays about it, Hughes is off and running.
An Oxford lawyer, a former city alderman and an Army veteran, Hughes is something of an anomaly when compared to a number of Mississippi politicians who once ran as Democrats but are now Republicans.
He says that growing up, he identified as a Republican who marched for Nixon, cast his first vote for Reagan, and was upset by the election of Bill Clinton.
“I identified as a Republican because I believed it represented the American Dream, smaller government and it (the government) staying out of people’s lives,” Hughes was quoted in a Hotty Toddy.com article by Steven Gagliano.
The article said that “while Hughes has no intention of returning to the Republican Party, he still holds certain values from the time he spent in the GOP and will use those views to keep his focus on the issues.”
The article went on: “While I consider myself to be purple, and still a fiscally responsible business owner, the current Mississippi Republican Party is too consumed with people’s private lives and no longer represents my views on fiscal responsibility and civil liberties. My goal is to provide quality education for all children, provide basic services, and then get out of the way.”
Or, as he says on his home page, “I’m a Christian, husband, father, military veteran, gun owner, pro-public education, and anti-government waste, and I’m willing to fight for what is just and right.”
Hughes, who has started campaigning early, has demonstrated a willingness to take on tough fights. As a freshman legislator, he often challenges House Speaker Philip Gunn.
Last week, the state Republican Party lambasted him for distributing “vote in honor of a veteran stickers” with his name and current office on them — stickers that allegedly showed up during a Jackson school bond election.
After last June’s primaries, Hughes had criticized similar stickers with Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman’s name on them.
“The biggest difference is, I paid for mine with my money,” Hughes said. “He paid for his with our money, taxpayer dollars.”
Charlie Dunagin may be reached at cdunagin@enterprise-journal.com
