Billy Hewes “Back Then”

Besides his first ad with the minivan we would say this is the best ad we have seen from Billy.

Even though it’s almost all still pictures and we usually hate these kinds of ads.

The message brings this one through.

ROM Overall Grade: B+

-ROM

Billy Hewes “Testing”

Billy Hewes for Lt. Governor, new ad “Testing”

-ROM

Tate Reeves tosses up “Basketball”

New Ad from the Tate Reeves camp.

“Basketball”

-ROM

Bad Tate, Bad, Bad Tate

This new ad from Billy Hewes has us totally entertained, I am not sure if you can even call it a negative ad when there is a chihuahua in it.  Anyway the production value looks really good and the message,  although Tate Reeves probably does not like it will probably be somewhat effective.

Regardless of our feelings about this race we love ads and we REALLY LOVE attack ads.

Positive ads are so boring most of the time.

Political silly season just started.

Overall ROM Ad Grade: B+

Tate Reeves: Mississippi King of Campaign Cash 2011

Yep, that’s State Treasurer Tate Reeves who has apparently been making his fund-raising calls and it has paid off.

April 30 Report

$724,126.52 in the door this period

$2,100,473.21 CASH ON HAND

Seriously folks this is a candidate on a mission.

His opponent obviously worked had and has 1,169,744.00 but I cannot think of another candidate off had that has been outspent by a million dollars and won a primary in MS political history.

(if I am wrong please remind me)

If team Tate (Justin Brasell) spends their money wisely this race is over.

BUT,

A million dollars goes a long way in Mississippi, we could still have a race but I suspect Reeves is out front and doubt that Hewes can catch him.

Currently Handicapping this race at 75/25 Reeves

-ROM

Mississippi State Campaign Finance Reports for April 30th 2011

April 30 campaign finance reports were due today, generally these are the best indicator of who will win primaries for the statewide races as campaigns begin spending money very shortly, the April 30 reports are generally close to the high water mark for a primary campaign, many campaigns will raise more cash in the next 2 months but generally it gets harder as most have picked the low hanging fruit by now.

Cash on Hand is really all that matters so it is all we are reporting here:

GOV:

Dave Dennis: COH = $708,867.54

Phil Bryant: COH = $2,015,988.00

Bill Luckett: COH= $518,526.77

Johnny DuPree: COH= $82,752.66

Lt. GOV:

Tate Reeves: COH = $2,100,473.21

Billy Hewes: COH = $1,169,744.00

Attorney General:

Jim Hood: COH = $439,537.77

Steve Simpson: = $200,058.54

Secretary of State:

Delbert Hosemann: COH = $814,994.05

Ricky Dombrowski: = $10,847.61

State Treasurer:

Lucien Smith: COH = $427,476.00

Lynn Fitch: COH = $115,129.10

Lee Yancey: COH = $122,655.28

State Auditor:

Stacey Pickering: COH = $115,328.74

Agriculture Commissioner:

Max Phillips: COH = $136,594.08

Dannie Reed: COH = $8857.00

Cindy Hyde-Smith: COH = $37,302.50

Insurance Commissioner:

Mike Chaney: COH = $204,292.48

Updates as they become available.

-ROM

Democrats run in only 5 of 8 statewide races in Mississippi

In Case You Missed It.  August will be exciting, November will be a yawner…

Oh and who the hell is Rickey Dombrowski?  He is the only surprise of the day so we will try to find out.

More good coverage: Y’all Politics and Majority in Mississippi

-ROM

http://www.sunherald.com/2011/03/01/v-print/2906140/dems-run-in-only-5-of-8-statewide.html

Dems run in only 5 of 8 statewide races in Miss.

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS

Republicans are running for all eight statewide offices in Mississippi this year, but Democrats are running for only five.Both major parties are fielding candidates for governor, attorney general, treasurer, agriculture commissioner and insurance commissioner.

Democrats don’t have candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state or auditor.

Tuesday was the qualifying deadline for statewide and regional offices, and it brought few surprises. Although former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove had been rumored as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor, he did not enter the race. Musgrove, a Democrat, was lieutenant governor from 1996 to 2000 and governor from 2000 to 2004.

This year’s party primaries are Aug. 2, and the general election is Nov. 8.

Democrats dominated Mississippi politics for generations, but Republicans began gaining momentum in 1991 with the election of businessman Kirk Fordice as governor. The GOP now holds seven of the eight statewide offices, with Attorney General Jim Hood as the lone Democrat.

Hood is seeking a third term, and his only opponent is Republican Steve Simpson, who recently resigned as state public safety commissioner.

Mississippi Democratic Party chairman Jamie Franks said Tuesday he’s disappointed the party doesn’t have a full slate of candidates.

“This is going to be a year of rebuilding,” Franks said in an interview.

Republican chairman Arnie Hederman in a statement that the GOP expects a “spirited” primary.

“We are confident that come August we will have a ticket of tested and proven conservatives to carry our message forward against the big-spending Democrats in the fall,” Hederman said.

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour can’t seek a third term.

The four Democrats who qualified to run for governor are William Bond Compton of Meridian, who ran a low-budget campaign for governor in 2007; Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree; attorney and businessman Bill Luckett of Clarksdale; and Guy Dale Shaw of Coffeeville, a former Yalobusha County tax assessor.

The Republican candidates for governor are former state employee James Broadwater of Byram; Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant of Flowood; businessman Dave Dennis of Pass Christian; Pearl River County Supervisor Hudson Holliday of Poplarville; and businessman Ron Williams of Moss Point.

William D. Oatis is running as an independent for governor. His city was not immediately available. Shawn O’Hara of Hattiesburg is running as a Reform Party candidate for governor.

O’Hara also signed up to run this year under two different party labels for state treasurer – as a Democrat and as a Reform Party candidate.

O’Hara has been a perennial fixture in Mississippi politics the past two decades and has run unsuccessfully for a host of offices, from governor to congressman to mayor. In 2007, O’Hara signed up to run for all eight statewide offices, two regional offices, two legislative seats and eight Forrest County offices. The Democratic Party told him to pick one race to run in. O’Hara appealed to circuit court, and a judge eventually told him to pick one. O’Hara ran for treasurer and lost.

This year, O’Hara faces Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran in the Democratic primary for treasurer. The open state treasurer’s race also attracted three Republicans – Lynn Fitch of Madison, director of the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System; Lucien Smith of Jackson, an attorney and former budget adviser to Barbour; and Lee Yancey of Brandon, a state treasurer and money manager for a Jackson-area financial firm.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann of Jackson attracted a last-minute Republican primary opponent.

Gulfport City Council president Ricky Dombrowski said Tuesday during a news conference on the coast that he’s challenging Hosemann because he’s upset about Hosemann’s handling of tidelands leases in the city’s small craft harbor. The secretary of state’s office oversees leases of public lands, including tidelands. Dombrowski said he believes the city should not have to share revenue with the state.

Mississippi Campaign Finance Report Day February, 2011

Who went big and who may be stumbling out of the gate.  Those are just a few of the questions that are so frequently answered by our State’s yearly campaign finance reports.  Political junkies and reporters have been camped out on Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann’s website all day to see who did well and who fell flat in the very first real indicator of campaign and organizational strength as we move into the 2011 election season.

2 things to check out:

1. COH = Cash On Hand available

2.  Total cash burned and total burn rate (ROM formula for Burn Rate is = TOTAL SPENT 2010/TOTAL RAISED 2010) The higher the number the worse the $ burn.  This can be confusing for candidates whom have just entered a race (see the State Treasurer race where 2 candidates reported $0 expenditures)

GOV:

Dave Dennis: COH = $527,199.73 BURN RATE = .522

Phil Bryant: COH = $2,023,993 BURN RATE = .321

Bill Luckett: COH= $350,622.88 BURN RATE = .279

Lt. GOV:

Tate Reeves: COH = $1,644,598.59 BURN RATE = .167

Billy Hewes: COH = $1,016,257.67 BURN RATE = .165

Attorney General:

Jim Hood: COH = $402,378.73 BURN RATE = .266

Steve Simpson: DID NOT FILE

Secretary of State:

Delbert Hosemann: COH = $532,261.11 BURN RATE = .209

State Treasurer:

Lucien Smith: COH = $256,549.00 BURN RATE = 0

Lynn Fitch: COH = $163,119.04 BURN RATE = 0

Lee Yancey: COH = $71,410.99 BURN RATE = .233

State Auditor:

Stacey Pickering: COH = $140,097.62 BURN RATE = .546

Agriculture Commissioner:

Max Phillips: COH = $106,389.41 BURN RATE = .123

Dannie Reed: COH = $4082.72 BURN RATE = 1.07

Cindy Hyde-Smith: COH = $6664.65 BURN RATE = .675

Insurance Commissioner:

Mike Chaney: COH = $195,264.00 BURN RATE = .230

Updates as they become available.

-ROM