Hood and Hopkins remain the wild cardby Sid Salter
ssalter@clarionledger.comAs the Aug. 7 primaries approach, the races are about as exciting as eating salt-free soda crackers with the exception of the GOP lite governor showdown and the Democratic primary in the insurance commissioner's race.
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Otherwise, the statewide primaries are a rather barren political wasteland. Once the primaries are over, however, things should heat up nicely for the November general election.
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(P)erhaps the most interesting race looming in November is the one race in which Mississippi Democrats should have a clear, decided advantage - Attorney General Jim Hood's re-election campaign. Hood's in good graces with the Democratic Party and with the wealthy trial lawyers who have tended in recent years to be the party's financial backers.
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While Hood is the clear favorite in the race, Hopkins is a very credible candidate and is capable of putting together enough constituencies statewide to make the race interesting on his own.
Hopkins already has a fundraising lead on Hood as of the July campaign finance reports. Hopkins had $356,000 cash on hand to Hood's $289,000.
And that's before we see how much Barbour does to help down ticket candidates try to achieve a down ticket sweep for the GOP in November. Does Barbour simply make a few speeches and joint appearances with Chaney, Hosemann and Hopkins using the spare change from his $7.7 million campaign war chest to nail down a GOP win in the lieutenant governor's race or does he share the wealth?
There's a pattern here. Republicans aren't just looking for Barbour to dispatch his Democratic opponent for governor in November - they're measuring the length and strength of Barbour's political coattails.
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