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SPECIAL SECTIONS
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Election Returns |
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2008
SPECIAL ELECTION RUNOFF |
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12 May 2008 |
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE 1ST DISTRICT
Special election runoff for 1st District House seat (unexpired term) |
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Special Election |
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Precincts Reporting: |
100% |
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Candidate |
Votes |
Percentage |
Miscellaneous |
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TRAVIS W. CHILDERS |
57,276 |
54% |
WINNER |
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GREG DAVIS |
49,314 |
46% |
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Election Shorts |
Childers wins congressional race runoff
Democrat Travis Childers has won a north Mississippi congressional race, claiming a seat the Republicans have held since 1994.
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Randle wins police chief job in Aberdeen
Henry Randle easily won the Aberdeen police chief’s job, beating Quinell Shumpert with 61 percent of the vote. Randle, who will succeed Walter Sykes, will be unopposed in the general election. |
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West Point election for Board of Selectmen
Jasper Pittman won the Ward 5 seat in West Point. |
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Voting and voting and voting
Tuesday marked the fourth time people have voted in the 1st District in the past nine weeks. The March 11 party primaries and April 1 runoffs were to determine who will be on the 1st District ballot in November for a two-year term that starts next January. |
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1st District Candidate Views |
| We posed a set of questions to the
candidates and each week
djournal.com
has been sharing with our readers how the candidates answered those
questions. |
| This is the fourth in a series of Monday question-and-answers with candidates in the March 11 party primaries for the 1st Congressional District seat. |
| The dates and topics for the
series: |
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Part I — (Feb 11) – Background, qualifications and philosophy |
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Part II — (Feb 18) – The Economy and the budget |
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Part III — (Feb 25) - National Security |
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Part IV — (Mar 3) – Domestic Issues |
| BACKGROUND, PRIORITIES & PHILOSOPHY |
| Q: What relevant experience, background and personal characteristics equip you to be an effective congressman for the 1st District? |
| CHILDERS: I worked full-time jobs through high school and college to support my family. I understand the value of hard work and the opportunity of a good education. During my service in county government, we have balanced 16 straight budgets. As a small businessman and as an active member and former president of our local development association, I helped bring over 1,000 new jobs to North Mississippi. I have a proven record of working across regional, governmental and party lines to create jobs and promote economic development – for example, my involvement with the Yellow Creek Inland Port Authority. |
| DAVIS:
For the past 11 years I have served as mayor of Southaven. Prior to that, I served Southaven and DeSoto County in the Mississippi State House of Representatives for seven years. I think that the citizens of Southaven will tell you that I have always been straightforward, hardworking and always remember that I work for the voters. And as the father of three girls I am reminded every day of how important it is that we ensure the future for our children.
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| PANG:
I’ve been a businessman for 31 years, the last 23 owning and operating a successful restaurant in Batesville. It’s a lesson our government needs to learn – a balanced budget and never put huge debt on our children. Never borrow unless there is a willingness of paying it off. I attended Northeast Junior College for two years and graduated from Delta State University with a BS in general business. I served in the U.S. Army, 1966-1969. I studied fine art at the Art Institute of Chicago. I can use my creativeness to solve some of the government’s problems. |
| WAGES: I attended Tupelo schools, graduated from State, and left Mississippi to find work in my field. I have been successful in industry, started my own company, and still consult in DNA forensics. I have taught in community colleges, and I know how difficult it is for workers who have lost their jobs to undergo the “retraining” politicians talk about. I’ve lived in a mobile home, and in a house overlooking the ocean. The difference is a good education, which started in Mississippi. Our young people should not have to leave the state to find good work in their chosen fields. |
| Q: What would be your top three priorities as 1st District congressman? |
| CHILDERS:
My priorities will be economic policy that promotes jobs, fair trade and fiscal responsibility; access to quality and affordable health care; and education. North Mississippi needs jobs. While unemployment is low in certain pockets, most counties in this district have considerably higher unemployment than both the state and national averages. We have to focus more on education and economic development in rural areas and small towns, not just the big cites. We have to find a way to make health care accessible and affordable to more people. Immigration reform and a resolution to Iraq are also long overdue. |
| DAVIS:
Washington is broken and we need to fix it. We need a congressman that will continue Roger Wicker’s example and lead the fight to end illegal immigration, put an end to wasteful government spending and fight for the God given rights of the unborn. I have a record of doing all of these things at a local level and if elected I intend to be strong voice for our conservative principles. We must change the way our business is done in Washington. |
| PANG: My three priorities are 1. Campaign reform; 2. No amnesty and no citizenship for illegal immigrants; 3. More accountability by our congressmen to the voters, not CEOs. Wally Pang will never take campaign money. Corporate America and special interests are flooding our politicians with campaign money. As our politicians take this money, American jobs are disappearing to foreign countries. If politicians plan to give themselves a raise, it should be at the end of their term, not the beginning. I will never vote for a raise or take a raise. All unused campaign money should be donated to charity. |
| WAGES: America faces challenges in energy, the economy and health care. Gasoline prices are heading toward $4 a gallon, and utility rates are rising. The long-term solution is to shift subsidies from the energy technologies of the past to clean, renewable solar and wind power. Our economic problems must be addressed in the context of long-term sustainability, not quick fixes. The solution for health care is a well-designed national health care plan. We know the solution. If we get money out of politics and enact real campaign finance reform, Congress can find the will to solve America’s problems. |
| Q:How would you describe your political philosophy? |
| CHILDERS:
I’m a Mississippi Democrat. I’m on the side of struggling families, children that need health care and teenagers whose only hopes are a college degree. I’m pro-life and pro-gun and for balanced budgets. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Illegal immigration has to stop. I will not negotiate away my core principles in Washington. We do not have to change our core values to change direction in America, but if we do not change the direction of our country, our core values will be compromised. I will work across partisan and philosophical lines to get the job done. |
| DAVIS:
I am a Conservative Republican. I believe we need a representative that not only talks the talk, but will, and has, walked the walk. We need a government that is fiscally responsible, stands up for our values and helps rather than hurts our families and businesses. I have fought for conservative principles my entire career and have no intention of stopping now. I am the only candidate who has authored and sponsored pro-life and anti-abortion legislation and I will continue to do so in Congress. I believe the 1st Congressional District seat belongs to all the residents of our district and not just one geographical location. |
| PANG:
I’m a conservative, always was one and always will be one. I believe in a balanced budget and spending all tax dollars intelligently. I consider myself as an independent. I’m a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Batesville. I believe in the right to life and I support the right to bear arms. |
| WAGES: I believe that Government belongs to the People and must be accountable on a daily basis. As a result, the People will know that their participation makes a difference – their phone calls, letters, e-mails, and petitions are heard. I believe in Government that acts on behalf of the People to prevent the excesses of Big Business. I believe in government that facilitates local solutions. I do not believe that Government has any right or need to listen in to our phone calls, to control our private lives, to torture, or to censor the media. |
| ECONOMY & BUDGET |
| Q: The nation is currently either in a recession or close to it. What is the role of Congress in improving the economy? |
| CHILDERS:We face tough times. We face challenges to small businesses and struggles to create jobs. We need a congressman who understands tough times, has started businesses, and created jobs. I have. Our leaders should have been thinking of the economic problems we face today when they passed unfair trade deals that sent jobs overseas, gave billions in subsidies to big oil companies, ignored the home mortgage crisis and kept spending as the deficit and national debt hit all-time highs. Balanced budgets, fair trade deals, and broad middle-class tax reform are the right prescription for this economy. |
| DAVIS:
Ours is a growth economy. As such we must enact policies to ensure more growth. We can begin by ensuring the Bush tax cuts become permanent. Stimulus packages are a good start, and I support the recent proposals advancing through Congress, if undocumented workers do not receive any benefit. However, we need long-term strategies to strengthen our economy. Along with reducing our tax burden, we must reduce governmental spending and enact policies that encourage growth.As mayor, I have been very successful in helping to create a pro-growth environment. I will continue to advance such ideas in Congress.
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| PANG:
First, we must ask why are we in a recession. I say it’s because our congressional politicians are being led by corporate America and special interests. They invested huge sums of campaign money, they want action, and company profits are their goal. As long as politicians receive campaign money, prices of gasoline, insurance, drugs, hospital stays and doctors visits will never go down. Congress could and should provide more temporary jobs during a recession or depression, but only to Americans. We need to re-establish how credit scores are achieved and used. We need to start all over. |
| WAGES:The federal government should help Main Street, not Wall Street. In the short term, we should help people directly affected by the economic crisis: for example, by extending unemployment benefits and food stamps and protecting against foreclosures in specific circumstances. For long-term economic health, we must restore the Glass-Steagall regulatory framework to prevent conflicts of interest in the financial industry, end NAFTA and begin restoring a balance in our trade with other countries, end the occupation of Iraq, which costs over $250 million per day, and balance the federal budget every fiscal year except in extraordinary circumstances. |
| Q: How would you balance the need for fiscal restraint with seeking federal support for legitimate economic development needs in the 1st District? |
| CHILDERS:
As someone who runs two businesses and has been balancing both a family and county checkbook for a long time, the budget deficits in Washington defy common sense. As chancery clerk, I balanced 16 consecutive budgets. I'll fight for the Balanced Budget Amendment and fiscal responsibility every year that I am in Congress. I will work with Democrats and Republicans to get it done. I will assemble a first-rate staff that draws, in part, from economic development experts in this district so the needs of our local communities are connected with federal resources to meet those needs. |
| DAVIS:
I believe very strongly in cutting wasteful government spending and balancing the federal budget. We cannot continue to spend money when we can’t balance our checkbook. This is why government spending should be based on the returns it generates, just like any business. If we are going to spend money, it must be on projects that will continue to benefit us all and not on “pork barreling.” Governmental spending must be viewed as investment spending. |
| PANG: If elected as your U.S. representative of the 1st District, I will get all I can legally from Washington, D.C., to the 1st District for economic development. I want to represent the 1st District. There will be no restraint on my part. |
| WAGES: The primary job of congressmen is not to send home as much funding as possible for varied and sundry projects. We need focused, purposeful investments. We need to extend the successful community development model of Tupelo to our other counties. Economic development must be sustainable, and it must not destroy our agricultural land or our environment. Long term, we must bring the industries of the future, for example, the renewable energy sector, to North Mississippi, and we must change our focus from mega-employers to local small businesses and micro-businesses – the foundation of our economy. |
| Q:Do you support extension of the Bush tax cuts scheduled to expire in 2010? Why or why not? |
| CHILDERS:
When it comes to our fiscal policy, we need to re-examine our priorities. For instance, we should not be running up record deficits while oil companies are given billions of dollars in government subsidies while they make billions in additional profits. As the person who balances a checkbook for my county, for a small business and in my home, I like the idea of tax relief. My guiding principle is to balance fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction with tax relief. |
| DAVIS:
Absolutely. I support it for many reasons; chief among them is my belief that families know how to spend their money better than any Washington bureaucracy. As mayor of Southaven, I implemented the first municipal tax rebate in Mississippi history and I made it impossible to raise taxes without a super-majority of votes. Tax cuts encourage savings and economic growth. I will also fight to end the “death tax” that affects so many of our farmers and small business owners and their families. Our federal government has to realize enough is enough when it comes to taxing us. |
| PANG:
I never thought the Bush tax cut was a wise decision. I believe in a balanced budget. I do not like the USA borrowing from the future of our kids. The USA was the healthiest in the early 1950s, when tax rates were highest and our country had little debt. The Bush tax cut should end, and the increase in tax revenue should be used in paying off our national debt. A time of recession, it should be pushed back maybe a year or two. Raising tax for more social services is OK, but paying off our debt comes first. |
| WAGES:No, I do not. They have shifted the tax burden from those who can afford to pay more in taxes to those who cannot. I believe in progressive taxation that is fair to the middle class, but that asks more from those who can afford to pay more and who have benefited the most from tax cuts. Taxes that are too low lead to infrastructure neglect and budget deficits and are as damaging to the economy as taxes that are too high. The recent tax cuts, combined with enormous federal budget deficits, have shifted the burden to our children. |
| NATIONAL SECURITY |
| Q: What is your assessment of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and what is the appropriate role for Congress in determining their future course? |
| CHILDERS:We must ensure that our forces on the ground in Iraq have the proper equipment and support to resolve what can be resolved. Most North Mississippians want a resolution to this conflict and they want it soon. We need to engage the various countries in the region. They have a vested interest in the stability of the region and should be asked to help with bringing a peaceful resolution. There is merit in the idea of partitioning the country along ethnic and religious lines. Through diplomacy, backed by American strength and resolve, there is an honorable way out of Iraq. |
| DAVIS:
I was privileged to spend several days in November with our troops at their staging area in the South Pacific, and when I asked them what they needed their overwhelming response was “Give us the tools and the support we need to win.” I’m with them. Our troops deserve the best and I believe that we must continue to provide them the best. I believe that Iraq and Afghanistan are the frontlines of the war on terror and we must win this war, and we are winning this war. Congress must support our troops and their mission. Congress must show this nation’s resolve in this war and Congress must not fail our troops.
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| PANG:
The war on Iraq and Afghanistan was botched from the beginning. These two wars were payback to corporate America and special interest because they campaign to members of Congress. There was so much waste and so much overcharge to U.S. government, somebody has to pay for the war other than the United States. When Russia occupied Afghanistan, it put them in the poor house. This is what’s happening to America. This war is breaking us. |
| WAGES:America’s national security depends on ending the occupation of Iraq. The appropriate role for the Congress is to end it by any means necessary, including impeachment or a cut-off of all funds except for withdrawal. These are its Constitutional responsibilities. If our troops are still in Iraq, Congress must work with the new President to have the Joint Chiefs of Staff prepare a plan to withdraw in six months or less. The best strategy in Afghanistan is to end our military operations and work with the governments of the region to bring peace and economic stability to that nation. |
| Q: What is your assessment of the overall “war on terrorism” and how would you rate its effectiveness? |
| CHILDERS:
Fortunately, there has not been a major terrorist attack in America since 9/11, but it is clear that we are not doing everything that needs to be done to keep this country safe. It is time to put aside partisan bickering and implement all of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. As a matter of national security, we have to get control of our borders. Congress and the president have dropped the ball on border control for far too long. First responders are our first line of defense. They need the federal resources and support to do the job. |
| DAVIS:
We are winning the war on terror and must continue to do so. I believe that we have been very effective at hunting down those who would harm us and bringing them to justice. The surge is working. Areas of Iraq that were once strongholds for Al Qaeda are now under Iraqi control. While our armed forces and intelligence community have done a great job, this battle is far from over and we must win. |
| PANG: Same answer as the one about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| WAGES: To put out a fire, you remove fuel, oxygen, or heat. Similarly, we must remove the root causes of terrorism by bringing just and lasting peace to the Middle East. We must make support to Israel contingent on the protection of the Palestinian people. We must stop supporting dictators in the Arab world who prevent progress by smothering the free expression of ideas. Near term, we must increase inspections of cargos entering the US by road, rail, plane, and especially our ports. We must reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons that will eventually fall into the wrong hands. |
| Q:National Guard and Reserve units have played a major role in the recent conflicts. Is there a need for any reassessment in how those troops are deployed? |
| CHILDERS:
The National Guard and Reserve units of this country have done a heroic job of answering the call during this war in Iraq – too often without the equipment, health care or down time they deserve. The fact is, the National Guard and Reserves were not designed for the long, repeated deployments that they have been asked to perform over the last seven years, yet they have performed their missions with honor and skill. It is imperative that we keep the promises we made to all of our veterans by giving the Veterans Administration the resources it needs. |
| DAVIS:
The generals and trained military personal must make these decisions about how our forces are deployed. I respect the men and women leading our forces and we must put a huge amount of trust in them to do their jobs. We should welcome any solution that keeps our troops out of harm’s way and I am open to any ideas that accomplish that while protecting our country. |
| PANG:
I would keep the same policy. |
| WAGES:The National Guard is needed here at home to help with the aftermath of disasters like earthquakes, floods, tornados, and hurricanes. The Reserves should be called on only when necessary to defend the US. I do not support the use of the National Guard to fight foreign wars. |
| DOMESTIC ISSUES |
| Q: What should Congress do in response to rising health care costs and the large number of uninsured adults and children? |
| CHILDERS:First, there is not enough emphasis on preventative health care. This year Congress passed an expansion of the children’s health care program, so that is a good start. One problem in Washington is that special interests like pharmaceutical companies stop health care reform or measures to reduce the cost of prescription medicine. I will fight for Mississippi families struggling to get affordable health care, not for drug company special interests. |
| DAVIS:
We have dealt with this issue in Desoto County, where there are an estimated 30,000 uninsured people. I have been instrumental in helping our local nonprofit health clinics get funding and continue to provide services. I believe that these public-private partnerships can be very helpful, given the right conditions. Congress should also continue to facilitate making it easier for small businesses to collectively purchase health insurance at the same rates as large corporations.
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| PANG:
As long as politicians receive campaign money, the cost of health insurance, drugs, hospital stays and doctors visits will never go down. Congress should tell them to reduce profits greatly or they will pass new tax rate hikes. If they won’t, they could be voted out of office. We also are having too many illegal immigrants on our welfare and health care. If Congress isn’t careful, they will be voted out of office the next election. The American people are mad, and they are – or will be – in financial crisis. |
| WAGES:Like most Americans, we support a single-payer, national health plan as the solution to our health care problems. Other advanced countries like Canada, Britain, Finland, and even Brazil, have some type of national health care. They can do it; why can’t we? Let’s study these pre-existing systems, learn from them and design one that works for Americans. Important design criteria include (1) it must cover everyone, (2) it must emphasize preventive medicine, including exercise, diet, prenatal and childhood care, and early detection of cancer and heart disease, and (3) it must achieve accountability through local control. |
| Q: What specifically should congressional policy be on illegal immigration? |
| CHILDERS:
Illegal immigration is a serious problem, and the president and Congress have had us headed in the wrong direction on this issue for many years. First, we need to get control of the border, not only as a matter of immigration policy but as a matter of national security. Second, we need to crack down on the businesses and corporations that exploit illegal workers. Third, we need to stop giving illegal immigrants government benefits. Finally, we need to send illegal immigrants who are convicted criminals back home for good. I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants. |
| DAVIS:
Illegal immigration is a national security issue. America must secure its borders. We cannot condone the act of entering this country illegally. I am against amnesty in any form. We must control our borders, enforce current laws and allow state and local law enforcement the power to enforce immigration law. As mayor, I drafted a resolution that would penalize businesses that employ illegal immigrants and landlords that rented to, or harbored illegal aliens. Congress should authorize additional resources to state and local governments to assist in the fight against illegal immigration at the local level. |
| PANG: There should be no citizenship, no amnesty, and no giveaways. We need to secure our borders. Our immigration laws need to be changed. There is no question our congressional leaders are receiving huge campaign money from corporate America. I’m fighting the politicians that want to give amnesty to 20 million illegals. If they win (in 10 years) there will be 140 million new immigrants. Ten more years will bring 1 billion immigrants to America. There will never be enough schools and teachers to have quality education. I don’t blame the illegals; I blame our politicians. |
| WAGES: We have the right to secure our borders, but this is best done by dealing with the root of the problem. Agriculture policy under NAFTA is a major reason Mexican farmers search for work in the U.S. Replace free trade with fair trade, and prevent the dumping of cheap, heavily subsidized grain on Mexico. Mexican farmers will be able to stay where they want to be, and illegal immigration will decline. This solution answers our economic as well as immigration problems, and is fair to everyone concerned. Fences and increased enforcement are weak excuses for effective solutions. |
| Q:What do you see as the most viable solution to keep entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare financially sound for the long term? |
| CHILDERS:
I am deeply committed to improving the lives of our senior citizens. Care for our seniors is a passion that my family and I share. It was that commitment to our seniors that led my family and I to purchase and renovate the old high building in our hometown into a badly needed, state-of-the-art assisted living facility, so seniors in our community could live out their lives close to home. As congressman, I will fight to protect Social Security, oppose privatization and expand in-home care programs for seniors. |
| DAVIS:
Social Security, in its current form, is heading toward a financial crisis. Those near or at the current retirement age have more than paid their fair share into the system and we must honor the commitments made to them. I will not support increasing their retirement age. Also, I will not support any measures that either raise retirement taxes or reduce retirement benefits. Employment taxes are a major part of any budget and businesses expense. I know the impact higher employment taxes have on a business. Congress must act in order to sustain Social Security for future generations. |
| PANG:
Very simple for a huge problem – go back to 1930 when ever Social Security was formed. Before then, America didn’t have Social Security. One’s Social Security was based on how much was paid. If one is paid a lot, he receives more. If one pays nothing, he gets nothing. |
| WAGES:Social Security is not in a financial crisis. There is a projected shortfall 35 years from now, but we know what to do about it. Rather than treating this as a catastrophe and an excuse for privatization, let’s end the $3 trillion war, and change our tax and budget structure to accommodate future needs. With sound, conservative fiscal planning, we will be able to fund any gap in Social Security and ensure its continued operation as a public service that benefits everyone. Problems with Medicare funding need to be addressed in the context of a national health care plan. |
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1st District Information |
| Mississippi's first congressional district
is in the northeast corner of the state. It includes much of the
northern portion of the state including Corinth, Columbus, Oxford,
Southaven and Tupelo. |
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Area: 11,412 mi²
Distribution:
38.36% urban, 38.4% rural
Population (2006): 762,914
Median income:
$35,831
Ethnic
composition: 70.5% White, 27.2% Black, 0.5% Asian,
1.8% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 0.8% other
Occupation:
30.4% blue collar, 56.6% white collar, 13% gray collar |
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1st District Election
Schedule |
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March 11: 1st
District House seat (full term beginning 2009) party primaries
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April 1: 1st
District House seat (full term beginning 2009) runoff, if necessary
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April 22:
Special election for 1st District House seat (unexpired term)
Note: Winner serves out the rest of the
unexpired term, through early Jan 2009. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two vote getters will meet in a runoff May 13. |
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Nov 4: General Election |
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Election Round Up |
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EDITORIAL: Childers best choice
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
04/18/08
Voters in the 1st Congressional District on Tuesday will cast ballots in a special, non-partisan election to determine our next representative in the U.S. House - the person who will succeed now-Sen. Roger Wicker for the rest of the two-year term that began in 2007.
Travis Childers of Booneville, the top vote-getter among all candidates in party primaries completed on April 1, is the best candidate on the ballot. Childers is the Prentiss County Chancery Clerk, and his successful, positive and issues-focused campaign in the Democratic primary helped put him in the November general election. He will be on the ballot in November regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's vote.
The other major contender on Tuesday's ballot is Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven in DeSoto County, a fast-growing county that's part of metropolitan Memphis, Tenn. Davis, a Republican, won the nomination for the November general election in defeating former TVA Chairman Glenn McCullough, who also served as mayor of Tupelo.
John Wages, a Green Party candidate from Lee County, and Wally Pang, an independent from Panola County, also will be on the special election ballot and the November ballot. Neither faced a primary.
Davis' negative campaign
Davis unfortunately continues in the special election the same timbre of intensely negative campaigning he used against McCullough in the Republican primary. While negative campaigning crafted by cynical political professionals has sadly become commonplace in elections today, Davis - with assistance in the special election campaign from the National Republican Congressional Committee - has focused on distortions of his opponents' records and attacks on their personal integrity that are beyond the muddied norm.
This is precisely the kind of scorched-earth politics we need less of in Washington, not more.
Childers, on the other hand, has - until backed into a corner by Davis - run a campaign focused on the needs of the 1st District and his own desire and ability to bring together people of divergent viewpoints to build consensus. That's the historic Northeast Mississippi path to success, not division and bitterness based on a slavish allegiance to partisan ideology or a win-at-all-costs political mentality.
Davis blasts Childers for being a Democrat, and lamely links him to national Democratic leaders. The larger issue in this race is who the better candidate is to represent the entire 1st District, and Childers wins in that category.
Mississippi congressmen, Democrats and Republicans, through the decades have excelled in representing our state by learning that pragmatic bipartisanship and collegiality is the best method on Capitol Hill. Were cooperation not the historic practice among our state's proportionately tiny delegation in the House and Senate, our senators and representatives could have been faceless, voiceless fractions in a very large picture.
Reasoned bipartisanship is smart politics, and we believe Travis Childers effectively will practice it.
Childers stands squarely in the mainstream of a long line of people who have ably represented our total 1st District region's interests in the U.S House.
We support his election.
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Election costs strain county budgets
5/1/2008
Daily Journal
It will cost nearly $1 million to hold both the April 22 special election and the May 13 runoff.
Click here to read more. |
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Presidential Election |
Clinton wins W.Va.
By DAVID ESPO and LIZ SIDOTI
The Associated Press
Hillary Rodham Clinton coasted to a large, but largely symbolic victory in working-class West Virginia on Tuesday, handing Barack Obama one of his worst defeats of the campaign but scarcely slowing his march toward the Democratic presidential nomination. |
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McCain takes GOP campaign into rural Alabama Democratic turf
By PHILLIP RAWLS
The Associated Press
Republican presidential candidate John McCain campaigning in heavily Democratic west Alabama is as rare a sight as an elephant in a cotton field.McCain chose to kick off his weeklong "It's Time for Action" tour in the region known and named for its black soil, which once produced bumper crops of cotton. These days, the region is two-thirds black and struggling with higher unemployment than most of the rest of the state or the nation and, in many counties, a declining population. |
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AP-Yahoo poll: Economy top worry, but barely affecting votes
The Associated Press
The economy has soared past Iraq as the top problem on the minds of voters.
But do the growing economic worries give a particular edge to any presidential candidate? Not so far, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll released Monday.
With growing layoffs, tight credit and an ailing housing market, 67 percent say the economy is an extremely important issue, up from 46 percent in November. Gasoline prices follow close behind at 59 percent. The war in Iraq - the dominant issue for several years - stands at 48 percent. |
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Clinton raises $10 million, helped by 80,000 new donors
The Associated Press
Hillary Rodham Clinton raised $10 million in the 24 hours after winning the Pennsylvania primary, aided by contributions from 80,000 new donors, her campaign said Thursday.
The $10 million came from a total of 100,000 donors, spokesman Mo Elleithee said.
Clinton, who was strapped for cash going into Tuesday's contest against Barack Obama, started making fundraising pleas as soon as the race was called. She told supporters during her nationally televised victory speech to go to her Web site to send money.
She continued making the point the next day in Indianapolis, telling supporters she was being outspent by Obama and that she has to "hustle" to keep up. She urged them to go to the Internet to read about her positions on the issues. |
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