Mississippi Democratic Party chairman State Rep. Cheikh Taylor (left) and Mississippi Republican Party chairman Mike Hurst (right) (Photos from Facebook)
- Democrats see the results from Tuesday as a signal of a resurgence in a red state while Republicans believe they remain in a good position statewide.
The Mississippi Democratic Party is celebrating what it called “major victories” in Tuesday’s municipal elections, results its chairman, State Rep. Cheikh Taylor, says signal a “Democratic resurgence” in the traditionally conservative state.
Yet, the Mississippi Republican Party, for its part, believes they remain in a good position statewide.
“While we lost some hard-fought battles in municipal elections [Tuesday], Republicans are still winning the war overall throughout our great state,” Republican Party chairman Mike Hurst said.
Pointing to Democrat wins in the mayor’s offices in Brookhaven, Vicksburg, Jackson, Greenwood, Horn Lake, Columbus, and Lumberton, Democratic Party chairman Taylor said he is seeing “a powerful demonstration of grassroots momentum and community-driven leadership” among his party. He also noted pick-ups in various city council and board of alderman seats across the state.
The Democratic Party chairman said there is not only a “growing appetite for Democratic leadership” but the party has seen “a rededication to grassroots organizing in targeted communities and a growing wave of disapproval toward conservative leadership at both the state and federal levels.”
“Mississippi voters are sending a clear message—from the hills of North Mississippi to the shores of the Gulf Coast. They are rebelling against policies that hurt small businesses, squeeze the middle class, and push public education and healthcare to the brink,” Taylor said Wednesday. “From rejecting a disastrous tax scheme to demanding Medicaid expansion and protecting diversity in our schools and communities, Mississippians are rising.”
One election that Democrats lost despite bringing in state and national party figures was the Gulfport mayor’s race. However, former state lawmaker Sonya Williams Barnes, with the help of 2nd District Congressman Bennie Thompson, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and former Mississippi gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley, pushed her Republican opponent, Hugh Keating, to the brink.
Turnout in the Gulfport election was triple what it was four years ago. The Democratic Party said such “a historic level of voter participation… redefined the political landscape on the coast.”
Republican Party chairman Hurst said securing conservative control in Gulfport, the state’s second largest city, “in spite of Democrats’ unlawful acts, significant out of state money, and national Democrats’ meddling, was a huge win.”
Hurst is referencing the allegations of vote buying Williams Barnes faced ahead of the election which led to a meeting between her campaign and investigators at the Mississippi Attorney General’s office. She has denied any wrongdoing and no statement on the findings from that meeting have been released by the Attorney General.
Hurst went on to note that the Republicans flipped longtime Democrat mayoral strongholds in Philadelphia, Winona, and Magee. He said those results show the importance of conservative principles, policies and values to voters.
“We as conservatives believe that the best form of government is that which is closest to the people, and we will continue to fight to ensure that local governments are led by Republicans and Mississippians are put first,” Hurst said.
At the state level, Republicans hold all eight statewide offices, majorities on both state regional commissions, supermajorities in both legislative chambers, both U.S. Senate seats, and three of the four congressional seats.
Seeking to turn the page on the municipal election cycle, Governor Tate Reeves (R) shared a social media post Wednesday congratulating “all of the Mississippians that had the guts to put their name on the ballot in municipal elections.” He said running for office is not an easy task and he respects anyone that wants to help make their community better.
“My unsolicited advice to those who won: Running for office is often times, by necessity, a partisan endeavor! Running a city….is NOT,” Reeves wrote. “Hire quality people, keep your community safe by supporting your police officers, pay your firemen, pave the streets, deliver quality water/sewer services to your constituents, pick up the garbage – you get the idea!”
The Governor then added a note of “unsolicited advice to those who didn’t win,” saying, “Find other ways to give back. Support your community. Simply, don’t be part of the problem – choose to be a part of the solution!”
Frank Corder
