Mississippians prepare for March 11 primary election

The Leader Call, 2/10/8

As people watch the national cable channels and read in the large metropolitan newspapers of the goings-on between presidential hopefuls, thoughts of the importance of primary elections in Mississippi arise. But, in a year with the delegate counts running so tight, Mississippians could easily help choose nominees for each major political party.

“Now it’s a different game,” University of Southern Mississippi political science professor Dr. Joseph Parker said. “It’s a lot closer than anyone could have thought.”

Parker said the last time he can remember when Mississippi’s early vote mattered as much as this election was in 1976, back when Gerald Ford was fighting for delegates against Ronald Reagan.