2011 Governor's Races in LA, MS, and KY

[ScottM]

I stumbled across this and thought I'd stop in long enough to input on our gubernatorial race. This race is Phil Bryant's to lose. Should Dave Dennis pull off the upset in the primary, it will be his to lose.

I don't think there is any Democrat - any Democrat - who can win the race. And, yes, that includes Gene Taylor. The race won't be close, either.

After the 1999 elections in which Ronnie Musgrove was elected as Governor, Democrats held 7 of 8 Statewide elected offices (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, State Auditor, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Commissioner of Insurance). But, after the 2007 elections, the numbers were reversed. Republicans now hold all of these offices except Attorney General.

Mississippi isn't a State that throws out incumbents often, and yet Haley Barbour defeated Ronnie Musgrove by 7 points in 2003, and we just threw out two incumbent Representatives - including Gene Taylor, I might add.

Long story short, Mississippi is no longer a Democrat State in State elections. The possibility of the GOP taking control of the State House for the first time since reconstruction is very real now. This would have been unthinkable until the last couple of years.

I'll throw this in about Attorney General Jim Hood, too. Don't discount the idea that the Dickie Scruggs trial may have done some not insignificant damage to his political standing. His name popped up a lot during that ordeal.

Is a Dem win impossible? No, nothing is impossible in politics, but I'll believe it when I see it and not before.