Jackson Jambalaya

Contenders or pretenders?

Good gosh, Joe is quick on the draw. Suppose he thinks he'll get out ahead of others and get commitments. Don't have anything against the guy, just seems a bit over-eager. Should be interesting to see how things unfold.

very over eager. there is not much there there.

Nosef ought to one-up Twitterwell, er, Whitwell and propose banning garage sales.

Nosef had better be quick on the draw. There will be a number of potential candidates sizing up this race and the earlier Nosef commits, the more likely that other candidates will pass. Nosef is a good candidate, as he showed with his close race against Rep. Bill Denny eight years ago. Other potential good candidates may include Reps. Denny and Rita Martinson; former Rep. John Reeves; Ridgeland Mayor Gene Magee; Councilman Quentin Whitwell; businessman John Ditto; and former Councilman Ben Allen. Former Rep. Ken Stribling is a USDA employee under the Hatch Act and wont be a candidate. And this list does not include a candidate or candidates coming in from "out of the blue", especially in Madison Cty. So there is no fault for Nosef starting early.

Has anyone heard more about Rita Martinson? Rumor has it Walter Michel is supporting her.

It makes sense that someone from Madison County would run for the seat as NE Jackson is quickly losing its status as GOP stronghold.

I would like to see John Reeves run.

10:24, you must be "slow on the draw". Nosef is one of about ten that are out testing the waters, calling potential supporters, FBing, etc. The filing deadline is June 1st, two months away. Doesn't look too quick to this observer.

1:31, interesting list, but many questionable as to being quality candidates. But to each their own. My question is why would Martinson give up a house seat at her age to move to the Senate where she would probably be a one-termer. If the Pubs take over the House leadership, she could be a significant chairman (ooops, chairwoman - far be it for me to be politcally incorrect) in the House. If she moves to the Senate, she will be a freshman (ooops again, freshwoman) there.

There are several Madison Countians in the hunt now as well. This is by no means a NE Jxn seat any more, under the new lines or under the old. And which lines are in play will well determine the field. Martinson, Reeves, i.e. are not in the current district and that is probably what will control the 2011 election.

My thoughts, though, are Nosef is going to be a good candidate if he gets in. Has a strong NE Jxn base and good support into Madison. Good campaigner, lots of connections from his previous positions with Gov HRB and LtGov PB. If he gets in, probably will trump all other NE Jxn potential candidates
Cock your guns - its going to be a good hunt this summer!

5:50 You must be John Reeves himself. I haven't heard another soul who wants him back in office.

Good Lord. Can someone from the business sector not run instead of one of these career politicians? Get a man or woman in here who has made payroll every week, has had to raise capital for their business, pays the array of fed and state taxes a business owner faces, etc...Just like Walter Michel himself. These career politicians simply end up being whores and seem to only be interested only in their own self-fulfillment.

+1 @7:35.

Nosef made a good showing against Denny? Sure, whatever you say.

Well then you must remember that in that primary campaign Nosef was publicly AGAINST TORT REFORM.

7:35, You forget that Rita Martinson started Green Oak Nursery and GardenWorks long before she ever considered running for her House seat. I have no idea why she wants to continue, but I wouldn't call her a career politician at all.

Nosef was not publicly against tort reform.He has consistently shown that he supports tort reform 1. He worked on tort reform legislation as a part of Gov. Barbour's staff, 2.He was supported by Chip Reno of Stop Lawsuit Abuse...

Hi Joe.

Reeves won't carry his own neighborhood. Too much baggage.

In the 2003 GOP primary Nosef was AGAINST TORT REFORM. The truth is a bitch but that is the truth and no amount of revisionist history changes the fact that Nosef was, at that time, AGAINST TORT REFORM.

Rumor has it in Madison County that the owner of AJ's, John Taylor is in as well.

Whoa! If John Taylor is in, he will have my full support. Thus far I haven't been interested in the other names mentioned. Taylor's business acumen (not just at AJ's) exceeds that of any of the others suggested. Plus, he doesn't strike me as the career politician type.

All right, someone keeps making comments about JN and tort reform. I allowed one up and also a response. Saying he was against it over and over is not going to get posted. Including some quotes or links to a story will get posted. you made your point, now back it up or shut up.

Can a non-politician with business, and excellent leadership experience run a formidable race against the political establishment sponsored candidates? An exploratory committee is in the works.

Actually who I would like to see run is John Dennery.

In 2003 Nosef carried only one precinct, in Ridgeland, by a mere 22 votes. Other candidates are not going to be intimidated in the least by his early entry if it comes.

Nosef was against tort reform?

REALLY?

Here is an old ad of his.

John Dennery.

Initially in his campaign he communicated to some physicians that he wanted to pursue other solutions before tort reform. The uproar convinced him otherwise.

You don't have to believe it. You sure as Hades ain't no end-all authority.

If John Taylor gets in this race there is an awful lot of unpleasantness that is going to come out about him.
He is not the good candidate people may think.

KF - it seems one twit (maybe the recent reader who started calling everyone a "commie"?) keeps posting that Nosef was "publicly" against tort reform. "Publicly" means that it should be possible to provide a citation or two to these "public" statements. Please kill any more posts like that unless they provide a citation. Thanks.

Why? He's embarrassing himself now.

Commies.

@ March 30 5:51 PM - Hello Joe or Mrs. Joe.

This seat should be a Madison County seat.

Walter Michel said this morning that he's been contacted by eight potential candidates.

and Walter Michel is supporting Rita Martinson, correct?

Walter will probably be contacted by eight more by the end of the week. This is indicative of how easy it is for an incumbent to be reelected, and it's a weakness in our system that needs to be fixed. Some of these people might have challenged Sen. Michel, but I'd bet that the field would be a lot smaller if he had decided to run for reelection. Same with Rita Martinson and Bill Denny. They'd likely run unopposed if they chose to stay in their House seats. Why not have the same mad rush to run for office when the incumbent is running? Bill Billingsley

I've said it before elsewhere but I'll share it again here - no elected official should make a partisan endorsement before the primary. Further, no candidate who lost in the primary should make an endorsement before the runoff. I think it's wrong even when it's my candidate who gets the benefit of such an endorsement. Unless you're a candidate who still has a chance to win, stay out of it and support your party's primary winner. Bill Billingsley

That might be the way it should be, but it's not the way it is. People feel like it's their "turn" and that deters other candidates from running. Also it takes so much money to mount a campaign it is good to know who is spporting what candidate.