Johnny DuPree “Color” and “For Our Children”

The DuPree campaign for Governor is up with a couple :15 spots running as bookends.

Never been a huge fan of that strategy (it seems like :30 is usually rushing it) but the ads are pretty good.

“Color”

“For Our Children”

-ROM

Johnny Dupree up on the air and we like it

A pretty good spot up from Johnny Dupree for Governor, good camera work and a strong message, probably not going to win many points with the readers of this blog but we like ads and this one is pretty good.

-ROM

Max Phillips (R) vs. Cindy Hyde-Smith (D) for Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner

**Update 7/28** Max Phillips was endorsed by the Clarion Ledger: READ HERE

The Neshoba County fair coverage seemed to be uneventful with all candidates staying civil AP COVERAGE HERE

Alan Lange the very accurate and respected handicapper at YallPolitics picked Max Phillips to win in a close race with Cindy Hyde-Smith running second READ HERE

Cindy Hyde-Smith was endorsed by outgoing Ag Commissioner Lester Spell

There are 2 active campaigns, Max Phillips and Cindy Hyde-Smith who look ready to duke it out for the Republican nod on August 2nd.

The amount of emails and traffic from our original post on this race received leads us to believe that there is a lot more interest in this race than most political insiders might think.

A breakdown of where the race stands right now:

Campaign finance numbers have pulled close to equal with Max Phillips continuing to hold a slight edge.

After exhaustive conversations with everyone who would speak to us off the record about the race (GOP county officers, local officials, Tea Party reps, Republican hacks and a couple lobbyists) our notes revealed common themes and phrases, the most common of those are as follows:

Cindy Hyde-Smith: is actually somewhat despised by the grass-roots because they resent the fact that she changed parties only to run for this office, she is essentially a Democrat in a Republican primary, but was an early Jackson Lobbyist favorite who was fading fast until she infused her campaign with $40,000 personal contribution and pulled in some money from Labor Unions. Hyde-Smith seems to have the support of Democrats, Lobbyists and Labor Unions but we don’t see any Republican groups supporting her right now and have a hard time imagining any Conservative backing someone who was in the same party as Barack Obama only 6 months ago, has only been in elected office as a Democrat and voted for the beef plant.

Although Hyde-Smith did get a nice article from Sid Salter comparing her to Geraldine Ferraro here

***Updated*** Cindy Hyde-Smith released her ad today 7/15/11

not too shabby really, for a normal Commissioner of Ag candidate it’s par for the course, it does some tricks to hide the fact that Cindy was not born on a farm, says “born in a Christian household” and that her daughter will be “a 5th generation farmer” and she calls herself a Republican which is a recent development but we digress.

***Updated Again*** After further review we feel that Cindy Hyde-Smith should be chastised for this screen shot, it it blatantly misleading, her father was a truck driver and not a farmer, this is trying to be too cute and this screen shot is a lie, decide for yourself:

The above statement is false and misleading

ROM Overall Grade D- for attempting to mislead voters into thinking she is a farmer.

****ANOTHER UPDATE****

This video was emailed to us from a well known Mississippi politico apparently someone is not too happy about Cindy Hyde-Smith and her resume inflation, so much so that they made a little video about it.

Max Phillips: Grassroots favorite and Tea-Party backed candidate who’s campaign stumbled and failed to gain momentum out of the gate has apparently righted the ship has put some money in the bank and has been quickly gaining establishment backing and winning back early Hyde-Smith backers.

And in the biggest news out of this race in cycles Max Phillips has just released his first campaign advertisement. (you heard it right folks a real TV ad in an Ag Commissioners race)  We did not expect to see anything substantial out of either campaign until the last week or so.

It can be viewed here:

The ad is surprising if not shocking in how good it is for Ag commissioner candidate, it’s very funny, has great visuals, real talking points and even has a subtle highlight of the difference between the candidates (Cindy Hyde-Smith does not seem like the type to get her boots dirty).  It looks to be as well produced as anything around the state right now.

If Max Phillips can raise enough money to keep this on the air he may be able to win this without a runoff.  If nothing else this is going to force Cindy’s hand.  We will see what she can come back with. (*update* we have seen and it is posted above… Yawn)

ROM Overall Grade: A+

This race should be an easy one to call although it’s far from over, electing a Democrat who is funded by labor union money in Republican primary to this office would truly be an embarrassment to Conservatives across the state.  ROM pulls the trigger in it’s first race of the year and officially endorses Max Phillips for Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce in the August 2nd Republican Primary.

-ROM

***Updated*** Dr. Dannie Reed is still around, we had not seen a sign or an ad or a piece of mail or a strong fundraising report so we mistakenly assumed that he was not pursuing the race with real vigor he dropped by and added a comment so we felt obliged to include it in the post out of equal time/fairness or whatever.

From Rep Dannie Reed: “That (sic) is Dr. Dannie Reed, Doctorate of Agriculture Real Experience (sic) , servicing and developing farmers and Ag. as a County Agent. Elected Twice as a Republican, never lost, unoposed (sic) second race. But worked every day and not a lobbyist . The people will see who is the best,”

Mississippi Politico’s are on Twitter

We thought we would share ROM’s go to twitter accounts to follow for down and dirty MS political info and gossip.  The first list is reserved for non bloggers and non candidates/committees always good for something and worth watching:

To be added to this list or to nominate someone put it in the comments.

Lots of good people we didn’t list because their tweets are protected.

(LINKS ARE LIVE AND WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO TWITTER)

Joe Nosef

Austin Barbour

Brian Perry

Henry Barbour

Grant Callen

Nic Lott

Natalie Cole

Russ Latino

Casey Stafford

Pamela Weaver

BLOGGERS we follow

Kingfish

Yall

Cottonmouth

MIM

Marshall Ramsey

Will Bardwell.

At ROM we don’t do any tweeting yet but are thinking about setting up an ROM account.  Stay tuned

-ROM

We won / They won / Mississippi Won on Redistricting

The ink is barely dry on the 3 judge panel decision and there is already a back and forth on who won (Democrats of Republicans) over here at ROM we say that all of Mississippi won because right or wrong our Constitution stood strong and carried the day, the citizen legislators of Mississippi will have to come to a compromise on new districts and the courts and justice department will not be drawing our lines.

Congrats to all on the winning side.

View this document on Scribd

Democrats Claim Victory

Republicans Claim Victory

Kingfish Claims Victory for Delbert Hosemann

STATEMENT OF TREASURER TATE REEVES

ON TODAY’S REDISTRICTING RULING

 

May 16, 2011

“The court made the proper ruling today and followed the Mississippi Constitution, which calls for redistricting to occur the year after census data is released.  I applaud and congratulate Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann for his successful advocacy of the correct outcome in this matter.  Today’s ruling is a victory for local election officials and voters who won’t have to be rushed into contending with new maps and district lines this year, only to have them change again next year.”

###

We all win.

-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

MIM: Rep. Bennett Malone Admits District Lines Were Drawn To Move Opponent

Well the Democrats are up to it again and this time they are freely admitting that they are moving lines to avoid competitive races.  Whatever happened to democracy anyway?

Brett over at MIM dug up some good dirt from something called “a newspaper” still confused about that outdated technology but apparently they can be useful from time to time.

MIM has all the redistricting fireworks well covered so we won’t even bother, just go over to MIM to see all the plans, quotes and fireworks. All the work he has done deserves a read and a hattip from team ROM.

Malone Admits Lines Were Drawn To Move Opponent.

In an interview with The Carthaginian, a weekly paper based in Carthage, Rep. Bennett Malone (D-Carthage) admits that the new districts lines were drawn so that his opponent, Jay Mathis, would be moved to a neighboring district.

-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

Kingfish diggs up some juicy gossip about Bryant vs. Hosemann

Kingfish

“Mississippi Republicans who have struggled long and hard to get a Voter ID bill passed only to be backstabbed when in sight of victory.”

-ROM