Update on 2011 Southern governors’ races
In December and January, SPR took a look at the South’s three governor’s races taking place in 2011. At that point, the likelihood was that Republicans would hold on to the governorships in Louisiana and Mississippi, and Democrats would probably, but not necessarily, keep the Kentucky governor’s mansion. In the intervening five or six months, little has changed. In Louisiana, Democrats do not even have a viable candidate, and in Mississippi, neither of the two leading contenders in the Democratic Primary appears to have a realistic shot at the likely GOP nominee. And in Kentucky, Democratic incumbent Steve Beshear looks a little stronger now than he did last December, maintaining a significant lead in opinion polls.
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In Mississippi, with Gov. Haley Barbour (R) term-limited, there are spirited battles in both parties for the gubernatorial nomination. On the GOP side, there are four contenders in the August 2 primary. The favorite is Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant (R), 56, who has most of the Magnolia State Republican establishment behind him. Another substantial candidate, however, is Dave Dennis, 58, a former New Orleans Federal Reserve Board chairman and former GOP state finance chairman. Also running are Pearl River County District Supervisor Hudson Holliday, a former National Guard general, and businessman/Baptist minister James Broadwater.
Noting Bryant’s advantages, one longtime observer of Magnolia State politics says the race “hasn’t been competitive so far. As of now, it would not go to a runoff.”
In financial reports for May, Holliday had put $500,000 of his own money into his campaign, but so far has made little or no mark on the contest. Bryant raised $238,000 in the same month and Dennis $104,000.
There are also four candidates in the Democratic contest. The race is tight between the top two, Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree, an African-American, and Bill Luckett, 63, a Delta attorney/businessman who is white. For May, Luckett raised $62,000, DuPree $42,000. Should Luckett win the primary, says one source, “serious residency issues” may come up, stemming in part from allegations that some six years ago he voted in Memphis in neighboring Tennessee. School teacher William Bond Compton and Guy Dale Shaw, a county tax assessor, are also running.
Magnolia Tribune
