The Oktibbeha County Republican Party has more than $10,000 on-hand to help push its candidates to victory in June’s general election, while Democrats say they have not yet identified if and how they’ll spend any money raised following Tuesday’s primaries.
While both Oktibbeha County GOP Chairwoman Marnita Henderson and Democratic Party Chairman Albert Gore said their respective parties will not back any candidates in Tuesday’s intraparty races, Henderson said the Republican executive committee is expected to convene next month and decide how to spend a portion of its war chest advancing their representatives’ campaigns.
Support, Henderson said, could include advertising efforts or get-out-the-vote assistance.
The GOP’s campaign finance report states the party has already spent $600 so far this year, and Henderson said those expenses were for candidates in elections without primaries.
“Whatever we do for one, we’ll do for the other. Everyone in the Republican Party works together. There’s something to be said for anyone putting forth the effort to get out and campaign, because it takes a lot of guts. Until someone runs, you have no idea about what it’s like to go out there knocking on doors every day,” she said. “We’re looking forward to May 3, the day after the primaries, so we know who our candidate is (in Ward 1) for the general election. (The GOP’s executive committee) will meet after then and make a decision on how much to spend and how to spend it.”
Although Henderson said the GOP is unlikely to spend all of its money, the infusion of cash is expected to benefit Ward 2 candidate Jesse Carver, Ward 4 candidate Pete Ledlow, Ward 7 candidate Roben Dawkins and the winner of Ward 1’s GOP primary between incumbent Ben Carver and challenger Jason Camp.
As a party, Democrats are still attempting to raise funds, said Treasurer Peggy Rogers, and have not yet made a decision on how to proceed with supporting their own candidates. Rogers did not disclose how much cash the party has earmarked for this election cycle, but Gore did say he would support backing Democrats in the general election if the party is able to raise enough funds.
“We don’t get anything from the state or national levels, but I’m hopeful we will be able to provide some assistance,” he said.
Growing the GOP’s base — and its war chest — has not been an overnight achievement, Henderson said. When she ran for mayor in 2009, she said the party had “no money in the pot” ready to help boost local candidates.
“When I became party chair, (improving finances) became my goal. We’re not going to run out and spend every penny we have, but we’re not going to just keep a nest egg for the sake of having it in the bank,” Henderson said. “We now have a much more active executive committee, and that means more involvement from the top down. We’ve supported county elections in the past, and this is the first city election to really get involved with. We’re excited, because this is the first time we’ve had so many candidates in the ward races.”
In Ward 1, the winner of the Camp-Ben Carver primary will face Democrat Christine Williams; Ward 2’s three-way race features Jesse Carver, Democrat Sandra Sistrunk and independent Lisa Wynn; Ward 4’s election is a two-man race between incumbent Democrat Jason Walker and Ledlow; and the winner of Ward 7’s Democratic Primary between Margareta Moore and incumbent Henry Vaughn will face Dawkins.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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