The Democrat Party’s historical defeat in Tuesday’s election was a long time coming. It started in 1964 when Sen. Barry Goldwater became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Mississippi since Reconstruction. Then, in 1978, Senator Thad Cochran became the first Republican elected statewide in over a century. It took another 13 years for Kirk Fordice to become the first Republican elected Governor.
Since then, the Democratic Party’s power has continued to shrink. By 2011, Democrats only had one state-wide elected official in Attorney General Jim Hood and one U.S. Representative in Bennie J. Thompson. The Democrats only other pocket of power was with the speaker of the House.
After last week’s election, it appears the Republicans have taken that power as well. Reports are Republicans have a majority in the House and will select that chamber’s first Republican speaker in a 130 years. This gives Republicans complete control of state government, with Lieutenant Governor-elect Tate Reeves and Governor-elect Phil Bryant leading the other chambers.
It also leaves the Democratic Party in its worst shape since the South lost the Civil War. The Party failed to nominate a candidate for several state-wide offices, including the powerful position of Lieutenant Governor, and the candidates the Party did produce were vastly underfunded. A few that won – Sen. Gray Tollison and Rep. Donnie Bell – switched parties shortly after the election.
The upside for Democrats, though, is the Party has nowhere to go but up. Fighting against the historical shift, Democrats had been playing defense, trying to hold on to power office by office, county by county. This meant they made elections as local and parochial as possible. Ironically, this stopped them from forming a message or coalition and over time made it easier for Republicans to win.
Now, the Democrats no longer have much power left to defend, so they should finally start playing offense. The first step in this process is for them to find a message about what it means to be a Mississippi Democrat, an argument for why this is better than being a Republican. They should think of new ideas, ideas about how to move Mississippi forward and the role of the government in helping do this. In other words, they must create a vision for Mississippi’s future.
Then, the party has to sell this vision. It has to avoid the pessimism of those who believe Mississippi has to be racially divided and try to sell their vision to voters of all races. Otherwise, voters may form cultural allegiances to the Republican Party which will be difficult to break; family, friends and community have a much more lasting impact on a person’s politics than a television ad.
When it comes to selling the Party’s message, though, Democrats complain they don’t have the resources. They say their supporters don’t earn nearly enough to compete with the large contributions Republicans receive from business interests.
To address this challenge, Democrats have to stop conceding business support to Republicans and use the internet to counteract the disadvantage. If they have a better vision for the future, than they must articulate this to business people and convince them to support it. Seeking business support will also help the Party shed its anti-business reputation. Democrats can also use the internet to spread their message, which can reach voters and raise money with small donations.
Obviously, these recommendations are easier said than done. A political party is made up of people, folks with different agendas, interests, and goals. Getting people organized enough to do anything is difficult. And, in many ways, the state Democratic party has to be rebuilt from the ground up. Yet, the Democratic Party must find leaders willing to do this. If not, it may be several decades before the Speaker of the House is a Democrat again.
Scott Colom is a local attorney.
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