Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi
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| Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Jamie Franks of Lee County |
| Headquarters | 832 North Congress Street, Jackson, Mississippi |
| Ideology | Centrism, American Conservatism, Populism, Modern American Liberalism |
| Political position | Centrist |
| National affiliation | Democratic Party |
| Color(s) | Yellow (representing the state's many "Yellow Dog Democrats"), Blue |
| Website | http://www.mississippidemocrats.org/ |
The Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of Mississippi.
The party has members in all eighty-two counties of the state - each county having an executive committee and officers. The state executive committee is elected by congressional districts - twenty from each district.
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[edit] Party Leadership
A new state executive committee was elected in 2008 at the four Congressional District Conventions and the State Democratic Convention. A new set of party officers was later elected at the first meeting of this Executive Committee.
The current officers of the Executive Committee are Jamie Franks of Tupelo (Chairman), Barbara Blackmon of Madison (Vice Chairwoman), Claude McInnis of Jackson (Executive Vice Chairman), Mona Pittman of Batesville (Secretary), Derek McCoy of Tupelo (Treasurer), and state Rep. Earle S. Banks of Jackson (Parliamentarian).
Past Party chairpersons have included former Congressman Wayne Dowdy of McComb, Rickey Cole of Ovette, Jon Levingston of Clarksdale and Johnnie Walls of Greenwood.
Mississippi presently has two representatives to the Democratic National Committee: Everett Sanders of Natchez and Johnnie Patton of Jackson. These positions, unlike the officers, are elected every four years at the State Democratic Convention. Both of these DNC members are serving their second four-year terms.
The current executive director of the party is Sam R. Hall. Past executive directors have included Rosalind Rawls, Keelan Sanders, Amy Harris, Morgan Shands, and Alice Skelton.
[edit] Auxiliary Organizations
The party has several auxiliary organizations, including the Mississippi Federation of Democratic Women and the Young Democrats of Mississippi. The president of the Mississippi Federation of Democratic Women is Mary Katherine Brown of Warren County, and the president of the Young Democrats of Mississippi is Kate Jacobson of Jackson.
The state's older citizens are being organized to form the Senior Democrats of Mississippi.
The party is partly supported by the "Yellow Dog Democrats," who contribute to the party on a yearly or monthly basis.
[edit] Elected Officials
Of the Democratic nominees for statewide office, only Attorney General Jim Hood won in 2007, although the Party continued to dominate the Mississippi House of Representatives as well as many races decided locally. The Party also gained control of the Mississippi State Senate.
In 2007, the state's other nominees for statewide offices were John Arthur Eaves of Madison (Governor), Jamie Franks of Mooreville (Lieutenant Governor), Rob Smith of Richland (Secretary of State), Shawn O'Hara of Hattiesburg (State Treasurer), Bahalia native Gary Anderson of Jackson (Commissioner of Insurance), Mike Sumrall of Mt. Olive (State Auditor), and Rickey Cole of Ovette (Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce). These candidates were nominated on August 7, 2007.
On March 12, the state held its Presidential Primary, which Barack Obama won decisively. The number of voters in this primary election was higher than any cast in any past Presidential Primary in Mississippi history. [1].
There are three elected Democrats in the U. S. House of Representatives: Rep. Travis Childers of Booneville from Mississippi's 1st congressional district, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Bolton from the Second Congressional District and Rep. Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis of the Fourth Congressional District.
[edit] Changing face of the DP in Mississippi
With the February 2009 defection of Billy Nicholson, the majority of the Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives, for the first time in Mississippi history, are African-Americans.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "2008 Mississippi Primary Results". CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#MS. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
[edit] External links
- Party Website: Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi
