But Mississippi is different. The state’s Democrats have an unusually strong bench of potential candidates—including the party’s only statewide elected official in that region, a sizable minority in the state house, and a cadre of midsized-city mayors. “We’re not at the numeric disadvantage that some of our fellow Southern Democrats are,” said state Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole.
But for now, the party’s stars are unwilling to risk running in the state’s biggest race: the governor’s election that will take place this November. The party had two strong, potential challengers to Republican Gov. Phil Bryant: Attorney General Jim Hood and Public Commissioner Brandon Presley. But both declined to challenge Bryant and are instead running for reelection to their current jobs….
…”You don’t have to talk about Washington, D.C.,” said Ronnie Musgrove, the last Democratic governor of the state. “You can talk about Washington County, Mississippi. You can talk about Washington, Mississippi, in Adams County. You talk about our local schools and our local communities. … You just talk about what’s happening in Mississippi.”
But even as they distance themselves from national Democratic figures, the state party is looking for help from the national party apparatus, with some members saying they aren’t getting the support they need. If Washington helped local Mississippi Democrats, they’d be able to launch statewide bids. But Democrats in D.C. likely won’t be interested in sinking money into a losing contest; this creates a sort of “chicken-and-the-egg conundrum that Mississippi Democrats cannot escape at the moment,” according to University of Mississippi political science professor Marvin King. (A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee declined to comment.)
In order to get those candidates to risk higher-office runs, party members say it’s also critical that Democrats retake the state legislature.
National Journal
2/26/15
Magnolia Tribune
