With Tate Reeves most assuredly vacating the opportunity to serve again as Mississippi Treasurer to run for higher office in the 2011, there is a scramble of relative political statewide unknowns to fill that seat. Absent a Democrat with a really high name ID, the winner of this primary could very well cruise to victory in November.
The three candidates on the Republican side that will likely be in that race are Senator Lee Yancey, Lucien Smith (who worked as Counsel in Governor Haley Barbour’s office), and State Personnel Board Executive Director Lynn Fitch. To navigate a downticket race that will not hold a lot of interest for most Mississippians, it will be a scramble to (1) raise money, (2) work the party political apparatus and (3) make a dent on impressing conservative Democrats that will likely vote in the 2011 Republican primary in record numbers this year. There will be a lot of political noise in two highly competitive battles at the top of the ticket (Governor and Lt. Governor primaries), so the challenge will be making enough of a dent in the public consciousness to win a Republican primary in a downticket race.
Sen. Lee Yancey will announce his run in Rankin County on Friday, January 14. Yancey’s viability for the job comes from being an elected official from Rankin County and his ability to generate some limited earned media during the legislative session to up his name ID. He has also put to work some experienced campaign consultants and has started his ground game. Here’s the description of Yancey from his own release.
Yancey is a conservative Republican representing Mississippi’s 20th Senate District in Rankin County. Yancey is Vice Chairman of the Transportation Committee and a member of the Finance and Ethics Committees.
Yancey is a money manager with Woodridge Capital Portfolio Management. In 2006, Lee was selected by Pro-Life Mississippi as the recipient of their Pro-Lifer of the Year Award for his work with the Mississippi legislature. Lee is a member of the National Rifle Association.
Lucien Smith has worked as an attorney in Govenor Haley Barbour’s office until leaving just recently so that he could pursue a bid for the State Treasurer’s Office. During his tenure, Smith had exposure to large bond and economic development projects, so he will advertise a working knowledge of the office of the Treasurer. In a very short amount of time, Smith has put together a very impressive fundraising haul. That makes him instantly viable. Right now, he has not put together a paid campaign staff, opting instead to conserve cash in the short term. Though he has not held elective office, he will be able to get his name ID up with money, and it looks like he has a good personal network and base from which to do that. His political committee, Friends of Lucien Smith, reported over $250K in campaign contributions from a wide range of well-known Republican backers.
Lucien Smith Finance Report 011111
Lynn Fitch has not publicly announced her final intentions for the Treasurer’s race yet, but I think she’s in. She has been making appearances at political events around the state promoting her potential candidacy since Neshoba 2010 and is now rumored to be putting together a campaign team. Assuming she does get in the race, she has a long history in politics and government in Mississippi and a good base of connections in Jackson as well as the northern part of the state, where she’s from.
Smith and Fitch will likely wait until Tate Reeves officially announces his intentions before they announce their candidacies officially.
Watch the money in this race. I’ve said it before – Money is a sign of legitimacy in Republican politics and having a wide base of donors putting in real money is a sign that the business community takes you as a candidate very seriously. As the dollars go, so usually go the votes. The odds are that the one that raises the most in this race will win it.
Magnolia Tribune
