Such a headline led one to believe that Musgrove had indeed been dialing for dollars quite often in the year prior to the gubernatorial election cycle. However, a little deeper investigation into these respective campaign finance reports tells a different story. It seems that the Governor’s fundraising efforts grossed better than $600,000 in 2002, whereas Governor Musgrove’s campaign spent over $200,000, and therefore netted about $400,000 for the 12 month period. The $1.4 million war chest does exist, but these are the cumulative net dollars raised by Governor Musgrove over the 3 year period since he took office.

Insiders say one can expect Barbour to surpass Musgrove’s fundraising totals sometime in the first quarter of 2003. The conventional wisdom is that the 2003 governor’s race will far exceed the campaign finance records for any election held in Mississippi. With an incumbent governor and a challenger who is known as one of the most proficient campaign fundraisers in the nation, there is no reason to doubt this speculation.

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Do You Have Your Running Shoes On?
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After the early December party switch by Republican Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck, political watchers have kept a constant eye on who might be challenging Tuck in the GOP primary and in the November general election. Jackson physician Randy Russell has traveled around the state talking to different groups of Mississippians about challenging Tuck in the August GOP primary. Russell previously served on the Rankin and Madison County Republican Executive Committees, and has been a staunch supporter of conservative political issues such as term limits and tort reform.

Another name that has been whispered amongst GOP stalwarts as a possible Lieutenant Governor candidate is the 1999 Republican nominee for the state’s number two job, and current Undersecretary of Agriculture, Bill Hawks. While he would be a formidable primary foe against the newly christened Republican Tuck, one should take note that most of the Republican horses are in Tuck’s campaign stable. In addition, the Mississippi business and medical communities, which have been active in the legislative tort reform fight as well as in 2002’s judicial elections, have pledged to help Tuck win re-election.

On the Democratic side of the ledger, candidate speculation has increased since the first of the year. Former Supreme Court justice and former gubernatorial candidate, Jim Roberts of Pontotoc, announced on Supertalk’s Paul Gallo show that he was officially looking at running for Lieutenant Governor. Robert’s had every intention to announce his candidacy exploration by reading a fairly lengthy statement that touched on his desire to serve his fellow Mississippians. At the end of the statement, Gallo and many listeners seemed to think that Robert’s intentions were rather ambiguously stated, and had to question Roberts a bit as to gain some clarity about what office he was talking about running for. Many believe that Robert’s desire to serve is, indeed, paramount to him, but then beg the question, “In which office, sir?” In 1999, his desire was to serve in the role of governor, whereas in 2003, he apparently thinks that the office of Lieutenant Governor sizes up well for him. Political observers also speculate that if Mike Moore vacates the Attorney General’s office, then Roberts might then think that the AG’s office fits just right.

Another Democratic candidate considering a Lieutenant Governor bid is Senator Barbara Blackmon of Canton. Blackmon, an attorney and vocal member of the Legislative Black Caucus, is giving consideration to running for Lieutenant Governor as a Democrat or as an Independent, in attempting to measure the route that best enhances her chances of winning the election. It appears that with the Tuck party switch, any thought of running as an independent has been scuttled, and an all out run as Democrat would be the preferred election of choice for Blackmon. Not afraid of Democratic primary competition, Blackmon believes that she can galvanize the black electorate in a primary to defeat any white Democratic candidate.

Finally, there has been some speculation by political insiders and media outlets as to whether former Congressman Ronnie Shows is going to throw his hat into the Lt. Governor election sweepstakes. Shows, who was soundly defeated in the November election in the newly redrawn Congressional district by Congressman Chip Pickering, holds a ‘not so private’ grudge against Tuck for the role she played in the Congressional reapportionment drama. Tuck, if you’ll remember, would not agree to the House Democrat’s tornado plan, which would have put Republican areas of metro Jackson in the same congressional district that already contained DeSoto County and Lee County. This lack of agreement forced the reapportionment issue into the courts, whereby a federal judicial panel drew the congressional districts that were used in last November’s elections.

Many believe that Shows, while not amicable with Tuck, doesn’t have the stomach to run another grueling election in a consecutive year. However, Shows hasn’t publicly ruled such a race out, and continues to be interviewed by various media outlets about the possibility. A three-way Democratic primary would make for a very interesting election cycle, but most bet on a two way primary, with Shows as the one who elects to sit it out.

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More Moore?
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One of the most talked about topics of late in political circles is “What is Attorney General Mike Moore is going to do?” Some Moore insiders say that the AG has been considering a run for governor again and that Moore is also considering retiring from the Attorney General’s office in order to go into private legal practice. Much like the weather, the outlook on the Moore watch seems to change day to day. One day the political rumor mill has him definitely running for reelection; the next insiders believe that retirement is almost a certainty. Others believe that his aspirations might include a run at Musgrove and possibly the Republican nominee for a chance to be the governor of the state. The only thing for sure is that nothing is for sure where Moore is concerned until March 1st.

The uncertainty over the Attorney General’s office has led to several potential candidates having to make preparations to run for a vacated position, still not knowing whether a vacated position will exist in which to run. Several notable people have expressed interest in running for the position if such a vacancy occurs, though all are reticent to take on an entrenched incumbent running for reelection.

Chief among these are Jackson attorney and former Republican nominee for the 4th Congressional district, Delbert Hosemann, who appears anxious to run if the opportunity presents itself. Hosemann became notable in the 1998 Congressional election by raising a substantial amount of campaign cash, and galvanizing the Jackson Republican base in a free-for-all primary. His strengths, outside of being a prolific campaign fundraiser, include some residual name ID from the ’98 race, and his laudable campaign work ethic that was displayed in that same contest.

Also rumored to be interested in an AG vacancy is Ridgeland attorney and former Fordice Chief of Staff, Andy Taggart, who resigned from the large Butler Snow law firm last year to open up his own legal practice. Taggart has been involved in Republican politics and strategy for a long time, and is noted for his keen strategic insights in Fordice’s gubernatorial campaign. Amongst the rumored Republican candidates, Taggart is considered to be the more ideological conservative, similar in that philosophical vein to Alabama’s Attorney General Bill Pryor. Conservative insiders ponder whether Taggart can match the campaign dollars that Hosemann has proven that he can raise, but know that the political strategy of a Taggart campaign would easily match any Republican candidate, or Democrat for that matter.

On the Democratic side of the aisle, many believe that former Supreme Court justice Jim Roberts would choose to run an attorney general’s race if the AG’s vacancy does occur in the next month, rather than take on the incumbent Amy Tuck for Lieutenant Governor. Roberts has been known to run a folksy, populist campaign, but to succeed at the state-wide level for either Attorney General or Lieutenant Governor, he will need to improve his fundraising ability and run a more modern campaign with a more compelling media message.

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Treasure Trove
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Long time Mississippi Treasurer, Marshall Bennett, surprised many when he announced that he would be retiring and taking a position with a New York City law firm, rather than run for reelection. Bennett had been noted during his tenure for modernizing the state’s treasury and helping to create and promote new programs such as MPACT, a popular college tuition savings program.

Bennett’s surprise announcement, caught many in both political parties off their game, and the scramble has begun to field candidates who have the best chance of winning he office.

Amongst the Democrats, many thought that Representative Randy “Bubba” Pierce of Leakesville would make the decision to run for the Treasurer’s position. However, after a week or so of thought, Pierce announced that running for reelection was the best thing for him and his family at the moment.

Likewise, some Republicans thought that Representative Carmel Wells-Smith of Pascagoula would be a good candidate as she offered diversity of gender and a coast voter base. As did Pierce, Wells-Smith took some time to think about running the race and decided that a reelection campaign for the House would suit her fine.

Some Metro Jackson area Republicans also became excited about popular Jackson Councilman Ben Allen’s interest in the Treasurer’s spot. Allen explored the possibility, and at the same time looked into some business interests, eventually coming to the conclusion that his business interests took precedence over his political career at this stage in his life. However, this present decision does not rule out a possible state-wide run in the future.

Former Republican Central District Transportation Commissioner Wayne Burkes has decided that he would like to come home from Washington DC, where he’s been a commissioner on the Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Board, to throw his hat in the ring for the Treasurer’s post. To be successful, Burkes, who has strong ties in East Central Mississippi, will have to win approval in both voter bases in several northern counties as well as many coastal counties, who haven’t seen Wayne Burkes name on a ballot before. Burkes will also have to gin up the fundraising machine to generate the necessary funds to create name ID in these areas of the state remote from his former Transportation district.

A name emerging on the Democratic ticket for state Treasurer is Senator Rob Smith of Richland. Smith, who has served in the state senate since 1984, is said to be seriously considering retiring from the legislature to take the chance on winning a statewide Treasurer’s race. Untested in an election of this scale, Smith will also have to demonstrate the ability to raise campaign cash to create needed name ID, which will be the determining factor in this down-ticket election. Also veritably unknown in areas of the state outside of metro Jackson, Smith also would be running in an election whereby most of the state has never had to pull a lever for candidate Rob Smith. Even with any other candidates coming on the Treasurer’s scene, this one could turn into a doozy of an election.

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DC News
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U. S. Rep. Roger Wicker is among the most conservative members of the House of Representatives according to the National Journal. The Washington-based news organization annually rates members of Congress on key roll-call votes during each session. The rating system was devised in 1981 and is recognized as one of the most comprehensive surveys of lawmakers' voting patterns. The rating system covers economic, social, and foreign policy matters. Wicker received the highest rating in the Mississippi delegation during the 2001-2002 session with a score of 89.7 percent. It was the second highest conservative percentage in the House. Thirteen members received top scores of 91.8 percent. Wicker was among four Congressmen at 89.7. Rep. Chip Pickering scored an 80.5; followed by Ronnie Shows at 55.5 ; Gene Taylor at 51.1; and Bennie Thompson at 23.2.

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Future Politicians?
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Susan Butler, Chief of Staff for Congressman Chip Pickering (R-MS3), and her husband are the proud new parents of Caroline Grace, born December 31, 2002.

State Senator Neely Carlton, D - Cleveland, and her husband announced the birth of their first child, Marissa Louise Maatallah last Thursday, January 30, 2003. She weighed 6 pounds 14 ½ ounces and has lots of black hair.

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New Feature
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The Magnolia Report will now post letters and emails to the Editor (Click Here). Any questions or comments are encouraged and welcome. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions.

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Quotable Quotes
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"We are not the brains, but we are the Legislature," Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, said Tuesday to MACM's chief executive and financial officers. "I don't give a damn if you like us."

“I think Gov. Musgrove has proven he’s incapable of holding firm on principle, telling people straight, talking to folks straight, looking them straight in the eye and telling them something and standing by them the next day.” Henry Barbour – Campaign Manager, Barbour for Governor

"We can't appear to be captives of the loony left just like the Republicans can't afford to be captives of the radical right. There's going to have to be some message development aimed at Southern voters...are going to have to be sensitive to the hot-button issues that have been hurting our candidates in the past, like gun control and religious faith..." Democrat Chairman, Rickey Cole

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Magnolia Political Report, 2002
MagnoliaReport.com
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