COLUMBIA — The Nov. 5 elections showed without doubt that Republicans have complete sway over Mississippi politics.
Voters mostly voted straight down party lines with little regard to the particular candidate’s ideas or qualifications.
Each candidate for statewide office got roughly the same 60 percent majority, with the one exception of governor where Democrat Jim Hood pulled some Republican votes, although nowhere near enough to make it a close race with Tate Reeves.
White voters, in general, voted straight Republican, and black voters, generally, voted straight Democrat.
That’s certainly their right, although we wish electors would spend more time thinking specifically about what each candidate offers for Mississippi and the position they will hold rather than on what Trump, Pelosi and company are doing in Washington.
Clearly, a strong majority of Mississippians are fed up with the national Democratic Party, and who can blame them? The national Democrats are getting nuttier by the hour in their quixotic quest for “social justice.”
The problem, however, is that actual governance in Mississippi has little to do with “coastal liberal elites.”
Now it’s up to Republicans to actually deliver something for Mississippi, which has seen tepid economic growth, poor educational outcomes and an outflux of talent.
Let’s hope they can offer meaningful solutions, not power plays, crony deals and moral posturing.
Charlie Smith is editor and publisher of The Columbian Progress.
