While most Mississippi Republicans would like nothing more than to put to rest the intra party hullabaloo of 2014, I’m afraid the silly season is only on a temporary hiatus. County and State elections in 2015 are coming whether we want them to or not, and based on what we are hearing we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of the joy that is Mississippi politics.
Here’s the latest round of rumors bouncing around the Magnolia State:
Delbert for Lt. Governor?
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is flirting with a run for Lt. Governor, meaning he would have to primary incumbent Tate Reeves.
There’s little to no upside for Hosemann or the Republican Party if this move is made. While Hosemann’s name ID is strong statewide a campaign against Reeves must be focused on issues, not just catchy slogans.
There’s no one who can run to the right of Reeves, fiscally speaking. As for leadership, he’s a strong leader in the state Senate and has built a firm following in the ranks which translates into an overall positive approval from voters in those districts.
While some like to paint Reeves in a negative light for his leadership style, a la the Tea Party and Senators McDaniel and Watson’s floundering coalition, it will take a good bit of money to “Cochran” Tate Reeves. And given this loud but small group of misguided insurgents’ recent antics (endorsing a Democrat, etc.) the rebranding of Tate Reeves won’t be an easy sell.
Speaking of money, Reeves has the war chest to take on any challenger – R or D – and the unique ability to raise more.
Hosemann, while good on the stump, may find it tough to raise money for an intra party battle following 2014. Most big dollar GOP donors aren’t giddy at a repeat of this year.
If Hosemann does pull the trigger to vie for Lt. Governor he opens the door for a McDanielite run, which many aren’t interested in right now either. Rumor is state Sen. Michael Watson is considering a run but I’m sure he’ll have to coordinate that first with Chris McDaniel so as not to overstep should his Jones County colleague want the spotlight.
McDaniel himself may decide to make it a three man Lt. Governor race versus Reeves and Hosemann for the heck of it or perhaps run for an open SOS seat using his US Senate challenge as a platform.
I still believe a McDaniel run for Attorney General is his best bet to rebrand himself and unite the party around fighting a Democrat.
But one thing he can be sure of now is that whatever he or Watson or others in the McDaniel family tree run for outside of their home state senate districts, there will be another Republican challenger in the race. They will not get a free pass nor should they given how they have spoken against a GOP nominee and overtly or covertly encouraged Republicans to vote for a liberal Democrat out of spite, putting their plight, their personalities over conservative principles.
One prevalent rumor floating around the coast is that it was McDaniel who met with the leaders of the South MS Tea Party before they endorsed Democrat Travis Childers this week. I sure hope that’s not a true rumor but at this point nothing surprises me anymore.
Other names mentioned for SOS:
– Johnny Maloney
– Cory Wilson
Cecil Brown for Central PSC?
Democrat state Rep. Cecil Brown looks to be seriously considering a run for Central District Public Service Commissioner. This would have him challenging incumbent Republican Lynn Posey should both get through their respective primaries.
Brown is one of a handful of state legislators faced with running in newly drawn districts. Perhaps he sees the writing on the wall.
Unsweet Tea in Mississippi
The Tea Party brand has been tarnished in Mississippi by the actions of their leaders during 2014. They lost every shred of conservative credibility when they endorsed Democrat Travis Childers.
The average Taxed Enough Already patriot isn’t hip on how these glory seeking, flip flopping leader types have given them a bad name. Perhaps a reality check is in order by their masses.
Some are now trying to reboot or rebrand the Tea Party into county conservative coalitions, styled after McDaniel’s state Senate Conservative Coalition. Watch for a group near you. These reincarnations will try to be a player in 2015 county and state elections, encouraging the primarying of Republicans who didn’t support McDaniel.
Here’s an idea: instead of dividing or segregating yourself off from the rest of Mississippi’s conservatives (the 345,000 who supported Cochran over Childers on Tuesday) why not work within the existing structure to gain real policy influence and get results?
But that’s too much work, isn’t it?
It’s easy to sit back and throw rhetorical grenades from afar, to shout accusations and post social media half truths. It’s much more difficult to get in there and work with others who may ideologically agree with you but don’t necessarily align when it comes to how to achieve those shared goals. That’s work, real sausage making.
American governance isn’t preschool where you can take your toys and run when someone bites you and it isn’t high school where the drama of the moment seems like the end of the world.
Real conservatives understand that politics and governing is a give and take where you hope to win more than you lose, and it’s not always pretty or fair or successful, but our American way of life and our Mississippi values are worth the struggle. Running away from these principles when the going gets tough for the sake of political expediency or out of spite as some are now prone to do shows very little commitment to the conservative cause as a whole.
Magnolia Tribune
