Background

The Mississippi State Senate was closely divided with Republicans maintaining a slim working majority as the fall 2007 election neared. Senate District 29 provided an opportunity for a Democratic pickup because of the district’s demographic shifts. However, an 18 year incumbent Republican refused to roll over.

The newly competitive district included several precincts with large numbers of conservative voters who had fled the city of Jackson for lower taxes and safer neighborhoods of unincorporated areas of Hinds County. The district also included traditionally Republican precincts in the neighboring city and many precincts in south Jackson that had been the scene of major white flight and middle-class black flight during the last decade.

We knew the GOP landslide at the top of the ticket, on the strength of popular governor Haley Barbour, would provide a boost for the incumbent Republican senator. Gov. Barbour was reelected 59-41and Republicans won seven of the eight statewide...
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