News

WAPO - Childers a winner in primary because he didn't switch parties WINNERS * Alabama Democratic Conference/New South Coalition: These two longstanding African-American groups were purposely ignored by Davis during the primary under the theory that their ability to deliver votes was outweighed by the negative attention he would draw in a general election by being viewed as "their candidate". Whoops! Both organizations endorsed state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, who is white, in the primary. And, while the ADC and New South Coalition shouldn't get all the credit for Sparks performance in predominantly black counties, they clearly played a major role. In Barbour and Bullock -- two African American counties in the eastern reaches of the state -- Sparks took 66 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Machine politics is dead in lots of areas of the country but not in Alabama just yet. * Travis Childers/Bobby Bright: Both Childers, a Democrat who represents northern Mississippi, and Bright, a Democrat from southern Alabama, were much-mentioned as potential party switchers in the wake of Griffith's move last year. (Both men represent strongly Republican districts.) Neither man jumped and while they will both face serious races in the fall, they are in better shape today than Griffith. The Fix 6/2/10

POLITICO - Lott bucking GOP by backing Fincher foe in Tenn. Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is bucking the preferences of national Republicans in the race for Tennessee’s open 8th Congressional District seat, raising money for Shelby County Commissioner George Flinn’s campaign even as House GOP officials have signaled support for rival candidate Stephen Fincher. Amy Mason, Flinn’s deputy finance director, said the former Mississippi senator will host an event for Flinn’s campaign on the afternoon of June 18 at a supporters’ home in Memphis. Donations are being requested in the amounts of $2,400; $2,000; and $500. Flinn, Fincher and physician Ron Kirkland are competing in an Aug. 5 Republican primary to run for the seat of retiring Democratic Rep. John Tanner. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas has helped raise funds for Fincher’s campaign, and Fincher has won the backing of a host of House Republicans including Minority Whip Eric Cantor, NRCC recruitment czar Kevin McCarthy and Georgia Reps. Lynn Westmoreland and Tom Price. Read more by Politico 6/2/10

WAPO - McGlowan should have spent less time on Fox and more time campaigning It was an even darker night for someone who, unlike Peterson, already had something of a national following. In February, Fox News pundit Angela McGlowan, a black woman who often comments on how the Democratic Party undermines black Americans, announced her candidacy for Mississippi's 1st District at the National Tea Party Convention. She immediately became much-cited evidence of how the tea party was challenging the GOP and how black Republicans were finding their footing. ... But there was little evidence of real grass-roots support for McGlowan. She raised only $87,093, which included $12,372 from her own pocket, and last night she scored only 15 percent of the vote in her primary. That's not the kind of result that increases a pundit's credibility -- that's a result that sends us looking at her campaign schedule and realizing how much time she spent on Fox News versus how much time she spent on the trail. And this endorsement could have come sooner. Washington Post 6/2/10