There will be a Pine Belt link to this race, too, with Hattiesburg’s Morgan Shands serving as Hewes’ campaign manager.
Shands, 47, a 1982 graduate of Hattiesburg High, served as U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker’s representative in South Mississippi until Friday.
Hewes faces some major obstacles, though. The first is that he’s from the Gulf Coast.
Former state Attorney General Mike Moore and ex-U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, both from Pascagoula, are among the few Coast candidates in recent memory to win statewide elections.
The second obstacle is that Reeves has already won a statewide race, has better name recognition and a base on which to build.
Shands is confident Hewes can win.
“If you look at the numbers, particularly in the primaries, the Coast is an area you have to win,” he said.
Additionally, Hewes knows the Legislature, having served in the Senate since 1992. Reeves hasn’t served as a legislator, although he’s certainly familiar with the process.
And Reeves, Shands said, is part of the “Capitol Street gang.”
Hattiesburg American Editorial
1/9/11
Magnolia Tribune
