NESHOBA COUNTY FAIR – The tin roof of the Founder’s Square reverberated with a lot of political rhetoric this week – some of it serious and relevant and some of it, well, not so much.
While 2024 is a presidential election year, the White House race between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris has not been forecast as particularly competitive either before or after Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden announced his decision not to seek reelection.
In the 2016 presidential election, Trump took 57.86 % of Mississippi’s votes against Democrat Hillary Clinton with 40.06 percent – a margin almost 12 % better than Trump got nationally. In 2020, Trump took a slightly lesser percentage of Mississippi’s vote with 57.60 % of the voters but earned some 56,000 additional Magnolia State votes in that win.
Mississippi hasn’t voted Democratic in presidential politics since giving fellow southerner Jimmy Carter of Georgia the nod in 1976 48 years ago.
Incumbent Mississippi Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker faces a general election challenge from Democrat Ty Pinkins, but Wicker is expected to win re-election handily.
The state’s four U.S. House of Representatives races carry little political intrigue with all four incumbents – 1st District U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly (R), 2nd District U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D), 3rd District GOP U.S. Rep. Michael Guest (R), and 4th District U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell (R) all expected to win re-election.
Kelly will face Democrat Dianne Black while Thompson will face Republican Ronald Eller. Guest is unopposed in the general election while Ezell faces Democrat Craig Raybon.
There are several contested nonpartisan judicial races for posts on the state Supreme Court and the state Court of Appeals.
Incumbent District 1, Place 3 state Supreme Court Justice Jim Kitchens is facing a strong challenge from State Sen. Jenifer Branning, an attorney from Philadelphia. Other challengers in the race include attorney Byron Carter of Byram, former Court of Appeals Judge Ceola James, and Jackson attorney Abby Gale Robinson.
Incumbent District 2, Place 2 state Supreme Court Justice Dawn H. Beam of Sumrall is facing a challenge from Gulfport attorney David Sullivan. Incumbent District 3, Place 1 state Supreme Court Justice Robert P. Chamberlin of Hernando and incumbent District 3, Place 2 state Supreme Court Justice James D. “Jimmy” Maxwell II of Oxford will both seek reelection unopposed.
On the state Court of Appeals, four candidates are vying for the District 5, Place 2 seat being vacated by incumbent Judge Joel Smith: Assistant District Attorney Ian Baker; Chancery Court Judge Jennifer Schloegel; Pascagoula attorney Amy L. St. Pe; and Chancery Judge Chad Smith.
Incumbent District 2, Place 2 state Court of Appeals Judge Latrice Westbrooks of Lexington is running for reelection unopposed, as is incumbent District 3, Place 3 state Court of Appeals Judge Jack Wilson of Madison.
Since the 1994 state legislative reforms gave Mississippi the modern iteration of “nonpartisan” judicial elections, the laws have been effectively the target of the old political wink-and-nudge.
Mississippi’s laws don’t preclude partisans from expressing support for judicial candidates. The laws do preclude judicial candidates from labeling themselves as members of a particular party, but the law says nothing about the partisan leanings of their supporters.
Since
the state’s first constitution was drafted in 1817, Mississippians have
argued over whether to appoint or elect judges. In 1832, a
constitutional
convention fight erupted between three groups — the “aristocrats” who
favored the appointment of all judges, the “half hogs” who wanted to
elect some judges and have others appointed, and the “whole hogs” who
wanted all judges elected.
History shows that the “whole hogs” won in 1832, and Mississippi has
been electing judges ever since. Of the state’s current 545 judges from
the Supreme Court to the municipal courts, only municipal judges are
appointed. But Mississippi judicial races are supposed
to be nonpartisan — meaning that candidates don't run under the cloak
of any political party.
As noted before, Mississippi’s “nonpartisan” judicial races are likely to remain — legally at least — as partisan as they are today.
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com.
5 comments:
Sadly, "non-partisan" doesn't exist anymore in judicial races if it every really did.
Today, only a few political "buzz" words are needed for party identification.
That's what happens when human become so lazy we respond without thinking...kinda like calling in the " hogs" on the farm.
Chad Smith has withdraw from the race.
"On the state Court of Appeals, four candidates are vying for the District 5, Place 2 seat being vacated by incumbent Judge Joel Smith: Assistant District Attorney Ian Baker; Chancery Court Judge Jennifer Schloegel; Pascagoula attorney Amy L. St. Pe; and Chancery Judge Chad Smith."
Sid's writings are a waste of bandwidth. Once Sid was a very good writer. The old gray mare ain't what she used to be.
I guess Sid would have us believe that appointed judges are not a partisan process. Either Sid thinks we are dumb or Sid is dumb.
At least he should have lamented the death of the jockey.
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