Wall Street Journal on McGlowan entering the race
Her candidacy puts the House GOP campaign committee in a bit of a jam. Republicans had previously identified State Senator Alan Nunnelee, chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, as a top challenger in the race. He already has $292,000 in cash in his campaign account and was touted by the GOP committee as “one of the best candidates for us this cycle.” The committee now insists it will stay out of the race and let primary voters decide who will run against the Democrat Mr. Childers.
The feisty Ms. McGlowan is a force of nature, and a direct challenge to the GOP good ol’ boy network. While not conversant with the details of all issues, she is a fast learner and clearly would have national fundraising ability. She also has a good chance of winning the GOP primary. There is a third candidate in the race, former Eupora mayor Henry Ross, and if the contest goes to a runoff she would have the advantage of nationwide attention in that faceoff.
When it comes to the general election, Mr. Childers is well-funded and has been careful to oppose unpopular Democratic measures on health care and cap-and-trade. But in an anti-government year, any Democrat can expect to struggle to win re-election in a district that John McCain carried with 62% of the vote. Were Ms. McGlowan the GOP nominee, she would perhaps lose some votes on the basis of her race. But she would also gain some, especially from the 27% of the district’s population that is African-American, much of which is socially conservative.
Wall Street Journal
2/9/10
Magnolia Tribune
