The Republican Party has dominated Mississippi politics for the past decade and a half.
Led by the election of Haley Barbour to the governor’s office in 2003, the GOP won four consecutive gubernatorial elections and has secured a supermajority in the Legislature.
It is a strong brand in the state, but it is also the establishment party, which could mean it has its work cut out for it in the next couple of years.
Establishment Republicans will have to work overtime to fight off challenges from rebels within their own party and some politically astute Democrats.
The election of Donald Trump to the presidency in 2016 is often a misunderstood phenomenon, even misinterpreted by Trump’s Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton.
The Trump revolution was not about the mass embrace of conservative principles.
It was a rebellion against the establishment.
The nomination of Trump was the first rebellion, led by Republican voters against the dozen or so establishment candidates that shared the debate stage with the president.
Fringe candidates like now HUD Secretary Ben Carson also received broad support during the 2015-16 primary season.
Trump and Carson were appealing to voters because they were anti-establishment.
Bernie Sanders’ rise to fame and his victories in over 20 states during the primaries was no more of a socialist revolution than Trump’s victory was a conservative paradigm shift for the country.
He was anti-establishment.
In fact, many of his voters switched to Trump after he was eliminated by Clinton, something that was a surprise for many.
But it’s not that surprising considering America was founded on anti-establishment principles.
No one political party can or should be comfortable in the seat of power for too long.
That’s why establishment Republicans in Mississippi have cause for concern.
Democratic candidates who pick up on this trend may perform better than the GOP expects in the upcoming U.S. Senate elections and in the 2020 governor’s race.
Rep. Jay Hughes out of Lafayette County has already declared his intentions for being the next lieutenant governor, and he is on the Democratic ticket.
Hughes is a likable enough candidate, who gained a lot of followers during his frequent critiques of the GOP’s efforts to pass a new funding formula for Mississippi public schools.
His passion is education, and that is going to be the foundation of his platform.
I’m not saying Hughes is or is not qualified to be lieutenant governor, but he is going to have to present something a little more radical in his platform in order to attract voters from the Republican base.
Every Democrat who wants to stand a chance in a one-on-one contest against a Republican needs to conjure some sort of anti-establishment pillar that will resonate with voters.
So far, Mississippi voters have proven multiple times they are not willing to cross the aisle solely on the basis of education being underfunded. They won’t switch parties for a moderate.
A candidate like Democrat Howard Sherman might perform better than expected in the upcoming primary.
He plans to challenge Roger Wicker for his seat this year. Sherman, husband of actress Sela Ward of Meridian, is not a native Mississippian, which in an anti-establishment climate might be appealing to voters.
A lifelong businessman in the healthcare industry, he’s also new to politics, which in the age of Trump may be even more appealing.
Sherman was in Sunflower County last week, meeting with healthcare providers and others.
I talked to Sherman for a little while after he did a radio segment with Rodney Hawkins on WNLA.
He had an idea to address bridge closures that I had not heard from either side.
He proposed a public-private solution where corporations could “adopt-a-bridge.”
Under this proposal, a company could theoretically pay money to help repair a closed bridge as part of a split with the government.
Good idea? Bad idea? I don’t know, but it’s a fresh take on an issue that currently has Republican leadership looking foolish as they fight over whether or not to transfer money out of the Peter Fund to pay the Paul Fund.
It’s ideas like this that may get some voters’ attention as they hunger to fill their anti-establishment appetites.
Traditional Democrats will fair as they have in Mississippi for the last decade-plus, but those who are able to recognize and exploit the strain of libertarianism that is running through the country these days will do well.
Mississippi voters will tolerate Democrats running a hair left of center on some issues, but successful Democratic candidates will have to offer up radical ideas and promise to stay out of people’s lives.
As for insurrection within the Republican Party, expect more candidates like Chris McDaniel to emerge.
While he’s harmed his personal brand, the sentiment that nearly got him the Republican nomination against Thad Cochran four years ago is still very strong among voters.
Establishment Republicans and Democrats should take notice.
