Selected Article :
Did race play a major role in
the recent statewide election?

by William F. Winter

Pro

This is a vastly different state in almost every way from the one which existed when I first entered politics in 1947. In most respects it is a vastly better state than it was then. At that time, the politics of race dominated the scene and the issue of racial segregation drove the political agenda.

No black person could think of being a serious candidate for office. Only a very few were allowed to vote. The president of one of the state’s historically black colleges and the holder of a Ph.D. degree from a major American university told me that he could not register to vote at the time.

Now, thanks to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 under the leadership of a Southern president, all Mississippians can take satisfaction in the strides we have made in removing race as a criterion for voting and running for political office. Our state now has 897 black elected officials—more than any other Southern state. We have 42 black members of the legislature, as well. Some of our largest cities in Mississippi have African-American mayors.

With that record it would seem that race should no longer matter in Mississippi politics. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Ironically, in achieving the desirable result of creating a two-party system in our state, we now seem to be choosing up sides largely on the basis of race. One party is overwhelmingly white, the other has a large black majority.

This party imbalance contributes to the continuing racial polarization in our state. Such is obviously not what we need if we are going to have a healthy political system. The recent political campaigns demonstrated how far we still have to go. Candidates on both sides resorted to messages—some subtle and some not so subtle—that were calculated to appeal to voters on the basis of race. That was the decisive factor in many of those contests, particularly at the local level.

It is past time to put that kind of racist politics behind us. All citizens, and especially the politicians of both races, must understand that our state has too many glaring needs—educating all of our children, creating more jobs, providing affordable health care, preventing crime, and so many others—to let ourselves continue to be hamstrung by the bugaboo of race.

To solve this problem, we must be honest with ourselves and each other and admit that we still have a lot of work to do to eliminate the finger pointing and the old prejudices. We must resolve to come together around or common interests and reach out to each other in ways that transcend race. Only then will race cease to be an issue in our politics. Only then will Mississippi be the kind of state that it can and ought to be. DBJ

(William F. Winter, former governor of the state of Mississippi, is a senior partner with Watkins, Ludlum, Winter and Stennis in Jackson.)

con

Any analysis of a major election such as the statewide election that we experienced on November 4, 2003 will be based, to some extent, on speculation and opinion. Still, I believe that I can speak with some authority when I say that most Republicans in Mississippi vote as they do primarily for philosophical and/or economic reasons, and not based on racial considerations. There is also some evidence this year that many conservative Democrats cast their votes for similar reasons.

Looking to last year’s Congressional Republican primary election in the Second Congressional District, it is noteworthy that Clinton B. LeSeuer, an African-American male, defeated Charlotte Reeves, a white female. In this year’s statewide Republican primary for Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Mr. Crowder, an African-American, barely lost to Max Phillips by only a few hundred votes. In this year’s statewide general elections all Republican candidates openly sought and courted African-American votes and received roughly ten per cent (10%) of that vote, statewide. Haley Barbour openly stated before all audiences that he welcomed and needed African-American votes, as well as the votes of all Mississippians.

Republicans vote as they do primarily because of a set of core principles that they ardently believe in. For example, Republicans believe (1) that government is best that governs least; (2) hard work is the key to success; (3) all persons are responsible for their own actions; and (4) we are not just a bunch of special interest groups that call ourselves Americans, but we are one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Republicans believe that these are among the principles that made our country great and must be dominant in state and national affairs if we are to preserve our greatness. They transcend racial considerations and leave behind the obsession that many have with racial issues and cause them to look through the distorted prism of race when seeking solutions to Mississippi’s problems and challenges.

Haley Barbour, Amy Tuck, Phil Bryant, and Tate Reeves are looking to the future, and will seek solutions for the benefit of all Mississippians. This effort will be in the finest Republican tradition and the fervent belief that our people are a part of one nation and one state, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. DBJ

(Judge Jim Herring is the executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party.)

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