Looking At Open Seats In The House
With several legislators’ still left to make a decision on re-election, we currently have 12 open seats in the House. Seven of the seats are currently held by Republicans including HD 8 (Larry Baker), HD 12 (Noal Akins), HD 35 (Dannie Reed), HD 40 (Ted Mayhall), HD 78 (Billy Nicholson), HD 84 (Tad Campbell), and HD 109 (Frank Hamilton). Five seats are held by Democrats: HD 4 (Greg Ward), HD 10 (Warner McBride), HD 13 (Jack Gadd), HD 107 (Deryk Parker), and HD 119 (Frances Fredericks). Here is what we’re looking at on the open seats.
The only Democratic seat that is open where Democrats should feel comfortable is HD 119. It is a strong Democratic majority-black seat. So far, three Democrats- Jacqueline Johnson, Richard Marsh, and Robert Williams- have qualified. The other four seats range from potentially competitive to very competitive. In McBride’s old seat where Haley Barbour won over 70 percent in 2007, only a Republican (Doug Jones) has qualified. HD 4 was also a strong Barbour district (57 percent). Right now, two D’s and two R’s have qualified. On the Democratic side, Steve Fisher and Jody Stevenson are in. On the Republican side, James Benefield and Alan Miller are also in. These both represent prime GOP pickup opportunities if they want to win a majority in the House.
Majority in MS
5/3/11
Magnolia Tribune
