At sundown Friday, there were 47 Republican Representatives in the Mississippi House. But since 10:00 o’clock Saturday morning, there are now 48 GOP members of the Legislature’s “lower” chamber, the most since Reconstruction, and only 14 seats shy of outright control.
Rep. Sid Bondurant of Grenada is the latest (but certainly not the last) ex-Democrat lawmaker to announce that he now is a Republican. As you recall, Senator Nolan Mettetal of Sardis came over to the “good guys” in the “upper” chamber a few months ago. (See January 30 Blog post, “Nolan Mettetal . . . Come On Down!”). Sid announced his switch to the thunderous applause of delegates to the Mississippi Republican Convention meeting Saturday in Jackson. It was my privilege to stand with him when he did so (along with a couple dozen of his legislative colleagues).
Sid, a practicing OB-GYN physician now in his second legislative term, was first elected in 2003 on a pro-tort reform platform. (Sid’s strong primary campaign propelled him to victory over a freshman incumbent backed by trial lawyers). True to his word, Dr. Bondurant joined with conservatives of both parties in enacting meaningful tort reform in a lengthy 2004 special session called for that purpose by Gov. Haley Barbour.
Rep. Greg Snowden
Clarion Ledger Blog
5/12/8
Magnolia Tribune
