This morning I read about jobs in Jackson County and the U.S. Senate race, which crystallized for me the frustration I have been feeling since the vote totals came in on the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Sen. Cochran and state Sen. Chris McDaniel. From sports to politics, everything nowadays is about metrics (think Moneyball of the Oakland A's or checkout fivethirtyeight.com). The turnout in Jackson County was an abysmal 18%. In Harrison County it was 26%. Total turnout in Mississippi was about 300,000 people, in a state of 3 million. This is not good, and I would argue, sad. Some will say it was the negative campaigns. Some will say "I wish we had online voting because I am busy." Some will always say "my vote doesn't count." No matter what the reasons, this is the system we have. More importantly, no one, especially in Jackson County, can say their vote (or non-vote) did not or will not count. The returns in primary showed about 49.7% to 47.6% statewide. The difference? The 5,000 votes that the third place finisher who no one knew (a Google search will reveal this fact) received. In Jackson County, Mr. Causey got about 600 votes, enough to swing the result as Sen. Cochran and Sen. McDaniel were separated by about 200-300 votes. Whether we like the current system or not, this is what we operate under. I for one support a hard look at changing our election laws. That being said, we have to operate in the now.
The metrics of Republican party politics in Mississippi says about 8 counties statewide "determine" the Republican nominee (Jackson, Harrison, Hancock, DeSoto, Madison, Rankin, Pearl River, Hinds, and a couple of others.) This is why your statewide officials have spent more time on the Coast and in these areas then you can ever remember. This is why you saw so many political commercials during this race on WLOX. I say this happily, because elected officials go where the most votes are; that is the name of the game. This also means that the Coast as a whole is RELEVANT! Since when Trent Lott was first elected to Congress as the first Republican Congressman (Remember: he worked for Congressman Colmer who was a Democrat), Jackson County has been Republican. I would argue that the rest of the state has finally caught up to Jackson County. This is a good thing. Jackson County on a statewide and national level is RELEVANT! As State Senator for District 52 I represent 50,000 Jackson Countians. That means District 52 citizens are RELEVANT! Officials both Republican and Democrat know that Jackson County with Ingalls, the largest private employer in the state employing around 10,000 people depends on the defense industry. They also know that the Coast with Keesler, the Seabee base, Northrup Grumman Aerospace, VA Home, has a great connection to the defense industry. We can debate the metrics of limited government all day long, but reading the Federalist Papers and other historical texts everyone must agree that one of the primary, if not THE primary reason, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, and the rest of our Founding Fathers re-did the Articles of Confederation into the Constitution was for protection of USA's citizens through a strong national defense. ("provide for the common defence"--Preamble to the US Constution). Mississippi has proudly been on the forefront of this defense as Mr. Crawford's column points out. This does not even include the many, many sons and daughters Missisippi has sent to Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, in recent terms. We support our military. I would point out also one of the best moments shared by the state was the commissioning of the USS Mississippi nuclear submarine in Pascagoula, named so by the Navy because of Mississippi's long history of dedication to the military.
So, Jackson County, the rest of the state, and the nation, is looking at us. Please turn out and vote on June 24th. If you will be absent, please vote absentee. YOU ARE RELEVANT!
