Thigpen's blog
Posted at 2:16pm on Nov. 7, 2007 Mississippi: 7 GOP, 1 Dem Statewide; Five years ago, it was 7 Dems & 1 R; But Barbour Has No Legislative Coattails
By Thigpen
At this time five years ago, the only Republican statewide elected official was State Auditor Phil Bryant. The other seven statewide offices were held by Democrats.
After yesterday’s election, Attorney General Jim Hood is the only Democrat to occupy a statewide office.
Four years ago, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck switched parties and won re-election as a Republican. Haley Barbour defeated incumbent governor Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat. A Republican won the open seat for State Treasurer, and Phil Bryant held his Auditor’s position. Then, after being elected as a Democrat, Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell switched to the GOP.
Posted in 2007 — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:43pm on Nov. 5, 2007 In Mississippi Elections, It’s Haley vs. The Trial Lawyers
By Thigpen
When Haley Barbour took office as governor of Mississippi four years ago, he made good on a campaign promise to make tort reform his first priority. After the new House Speaker and his cronies refused to act, Barbour used one of the few powers a governor has under the Mississippi constitution: he called a special session and forced the issue to be dealt with.
He won.
Today, the governor tells potential suitors, “Mississippi is open for business.” Toyota, among others, apparently concurs. When the automaker recently announced plans to build a $1.3 billion plant in Mississippi, a top company official made clear that Toyota would not have chosen Mississippi if not for tort reform. A recent survey found that 95% of the members of the state chamber of commerce believe Mississippi is headed in the right direction under Barbour’s leadership, not only because of tort reform but also for his performance following Hurricane Katrina.
Read on . . .
Posted in 2007 | Mississippi — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Read More »
