ELBA, Minn.—Jeff Broberg’s well sits inside a wooden shed not too far from a field he rented about a decade ago to a local farmer. 

One day, Broberg discovered the farmer was fertilizing with hog manure. In doing so, combined with the commercial fertilizer he was already using, the farmer was almost doubling the amount of nitrogen on the field in hopes of producing a better corn yield. 

Not all of that nitrogen went to the corn. Some of it seeped into the groundwater and was pumped through the well that supplied the water Broberg drank in the form of nitrate, which is made when nitrogen and oxygen combine. 

It’s an alarming local effect of a persistent problem that washes far downstream through the Mississippi River watershed, eventually ending up in the Gulf of Mexico, where nitrates are one cause of a low-oxygen “dead zone” that chokes off plant and aquatic life.

In Minnesota, Broberg’s well water tested at 22 parts per million nitrate—more than double what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is the safe limit for the contaminant. 

Broberg, a retired geologist who’s now a clean-water advocate, had his well tested when he first bought the house in 1986. For the first decade he lived there, it hovered close to 10 parts per million nitrate, the EPA’s limit. When it started to test above that, he began to haul water from a friend’s house in a nearby town. 

Finally, he installed a system that reduced nitrate levels in the water he drank, a system that protected him after the incident with the farmer. 

Retired geologist Jeff Broberg is framed in the doorway to his well house April 11, 2024, at his home in Elba, Minnesota. The water from his well exceeds the guidelines for nitrate contamination. Credit: Mark Hoffman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1″ alt=”a man stands in a dilapidated wellhouse in front of equipment” class=”wp-image-44877″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/broberg_cred-Mark-Hoffman_Milwaukee-Journal-Sentinel-1024×683.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>Retired geologist Jeff Broberg is framed

Read original article by clicking here.

Donald Trump wants school choice.  The GOP adopted school choice as part of their 2024 platform.  Most important of all, parents in Mississippi overwhelmingly support school choice.
 
So why do some Mississippi ‘conservatives’ oppose school choice?

Republicans have held the Governor’s mansion in this state since 2004.  They have held the Senate since 2011 and the House since 2012.  In all that time they have made remarkably little progress towards giving families control over their child’s share of education tax dollars.  Why?

Firstly, too many lawmakers in our state have been unwilling to pick a fight with local education bureaucrats.  Just as turkeys don’t vote for Thanksgiving, local education bureaucrats tend not to support the idea that families should have control of their tax dollars. 

Once families in our state are given control of between $7,000 – $9,000 per child each year, those families will be able to allocate the money to a school of their choice.  School superintendents, many of whom are paid more than the Governor, would lose the power to allocate that money the way they want. 

If we are to overcome these kind of vested interests, Mississippi needs leaders who will lead on school choice.

Instead, many officials in our state prefer to indulge the myth of the Mississippi education ‘miracle’ – the fantasy that we are seeing spectacular gains in education outcomes.

We aren’t.  One in four students in our state is routinely absent from the classroom.  Four in ten fourth graders cannot read properly at even basic level.  It is nonsense to pretend that there has been a dramatic improvement in education standards in our state. 

The Mississippi education ‘miracle’ is a narrative born of convenience, not fact.  It suits elected leaders who want us to believe that on their watch things are improving.  It flatters those in the public policy space to imagine that this or that reform they helped implement years ago, before today’s fourth graders were even born, is somehow helping young people learn.

What the myth of the Mississippi education ‘miracle’ actually does is reduce the chance that we make the changes our state needs.

To be fair, many politicians pay lip service to school choice in various speeches.  They like to cite their support for Charter Schools.

Although a law was passed a decade ago to allow Charter Schools, the administrative state in Jackson has done all it can to stifle the growth of Charter Schools.  The Charter Authorizer Board has rejected 80 percent of new school applications.  Fewer than 1 percent of schools in Mississippi are Charter Schools. 

The question needs to be asked why officials have done so little to change this?

 
The only significant progress made recently was the 2024 school funding reform which gives every student a personalized education budget that reflects their needs (and in which MCPP was heavily involved).  But what good is a personalized budget for students if they cannot spend it at a school of their choice?

Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama have made more progress on school choice in the past 12 months than Mississippi has managed in the past 12 years.  Our neighbors did so because their state leaders were honest about the true state of education, and the need for change.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas made school choice her priority, not just a name check item in her speeches.  Louisiana managed to pass school choice legislation a few weeks ago despite only having had a Republican governor for a year.

Due to their honesty about the true scale of the task, all three neighboring states now have universal school choice programs that give mom and dad control over their child’s share to education funds. 

Parents in Mississippi will start to notice once they see families in neighboring states using school choice. 

Team Trump might start to notice those opposing school choice at a state level, too. 

Failing to make progress on school choice won’t just harm the careers of Mississippi students.  It could damage the careers of any ambitious local leaders wanting to find favor with a future Trump administration in Washington DC. 

Real conservatives support school choice. 

Read original article by clicking here.

Donald Trump wants school choice.  The GOP adopted school choice as part of their 2024 platform.  Most important of all, parents in Mississippi overwhelmingly support school choice.
 
So why do some Mississippi ‘conservatives’ oppose school choice?

Republicans have held the Governor’s mansion in this state since 2004.  They have held the Senate since 2011 and the House since 2012.  In all that time they have made remarkably little progress towards giving families control over their child’s share of education tax dollars.  Why?

Firstly, too many lawmakers in our state have been unwilling to pick a fight with local education bureaucrats.  Just as turkeys don’t vote for Thanksgiving, local education bureaucrats tend not to support the idea that families should have control of their tax dollars. 

Once families in our state are given control of between $7,000 – $9,000 per child each year, those families will be able to allocate the money to a school of their choice.  School superintendents, many of whom are paid more than the Governor, would lose the power to allocate that money the way they want. 

If we are to overcome these kind of vested interests, Mississippi needs leaders who will lead on school choice.

Instead, many officials in our state prefer to indulge the myth of the Mississippi education ‘miracle’ – the fantasy that we are seeing spectacular gains in education outcomes.

We aren’t.  One in four students in our state is routinely absent from the classroom.  Four in ten fourth graders cannot read properly at even basic level.  It is nonsense to pretend that there has been a dramatic improvement in education standards in our state. 

The Mississippi education ‘miracle’ is a narrative born of convenience, not fact.  It suits elected leaders who want us to believe that on their watch things are improving.  It flatters those in the public policy space to imagine that this or that reform they helped implement years ago, before today’s fourth graders were even born, is somehow helping young people learn.

What the myth of the Mississippi education ‘miracle’ actually does is reduce the chance that we make the changes our state needs.

To be fair, many politicians pay lip service to school choice in various speeches.  They like to cite their support for Charter Schools.

Although a law was passed a decade ago to allow Charter Schools, the administrative state in Jackson has done all it can to stifle the growth of Charter Schools.  The Charter Authorizer Board has rejected 80 percent of new school applications.  Fewer than 1 percent of schools in Mississippi are Charter Schools. 

The question needs to be asked why officials have done so little to change this?

 
The only significant progress made recently was the 2024 school funding reform which gives every student a personalized education budget that reflects their needs (and in which MCPP was heavily involved).  But what good is a personalized budget for students if they cannot spend it at a school of their choice?

Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama have made more progress on school choice in the past 12 months than Mississippi has managed in the past 12 years.  Our neighbors did so because their state leaders were honest about the true state of education, and the need for change.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas made school choice her priority, not just a name check item in her speeches.  Louisiana managed to pass school choice legislation a few weeks ago despite only having had a Republican governor for a year.

Due to their honesty about the true scale of the task, all three neighboring states now have universal school choice programs that give mom and dad control over their child’s share to education funds. 

Parents in Mississippi will start to notice once they see families in neighboring states using school choice. 

Team Trump might start to notice those opposing school choice at a state level, too. 

Failing to make progress on school choice won’t just harm the careers of Mississippi students.  It could damage the careers of any ambitious local leaders wanting to find favor with a future Trump administration in Washington DC. 

Real conservatives support school choice. 

Read original article by clicking here.

No one knows the importance of selecting the right running mate better than Vice President Kamala Harris. With Harris now the leading candidate to succeed President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, a look at the top contenders to be on the ticket.

Andy Beshear

The Kentucky governor secured his reputation as a rising party star by beating Donald Trump-endorsed candidates in a Republican stronghold.

Beshear displayed a disciplined, tenacious style in winning reelection last year by defeating then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron. The governor has urged Democrats to follow his winning formula by focusing on the everyday concerns of Americans, from good-paying jobs to quality education and health care.

Beshear, 46, supports abortion rights, but in Kentucky, he has tailored his message to push back against what he calls an extreme ban that lacks exceptions for rape and incest victims.

He won widespread praise for his empathy and attention to detail in guiding the Bluegrass State through the COVID-19 pandemic and leading the response to tornadoes and flooding that caused massive damage. He honed his speaking skills by holding regular news conferences that often last an hour or so.

Beshear has presided over record economic growth in Kentucky, and he typically begins his briefings by promoting the state’s latest economic wins. He frequently mentions his Christian faith and how it guides his policymaking.

A lawyer by trade, Beshear won election as state attorney general in 2015. He then unseated Trump-backed Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in 2019.

Beshear entered politics with a strong pedigree as the son of two-term Gov. Steve Beshear, but has faced tougher political obstacles. Andy Beshear, unlike his father, has dealt with an entirely GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican lawmakers have stymied some of his priorities. One of them is state-funded preschool for every Kentucky 4-year-old.

Roy Cooper

The North Carolina governor has won six statewide general elections over two decades in a state where Republicans routinely prevail in similar federal races and also control the legislature.

Cooper, 67, has received strong job-approval ratings as governor, benefiting from a booming state economy for which his administration

Read original article by clicking here.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.

• Former President Barack Obama held off on an immediate endorsement, as some in the party have expressed worry that the quick shift to Harris would appear to be a coronation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris moved swiftly Monday to lock up Democratic delegates behind her campaign for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped aside amid concerns from within their party that he would be unable to defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Biden’s exit Sunday, prompted by Democratic worries over his fitness for office, was a seismic shift to the presidential contest that upended both major political parties’ carefully honed plans for the 2024 race.

Aiming to put weeks of intraparty drama over Biden’s candidacy behind them, prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris in the hours after Biden announced he was dropping his reelection campaign.

Biden’s departure frees his delegates to vote for whomever they choose. Harris, whom Biden backed after ending his candidacy, is thus far the only declared candidate and was working to quickly secure endorsements from a majority of delegates.

Additional endorsements Monday, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, left a dwindling list of potential rivals to Harris.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who had been one of the notable holdouts to Harris, initially encouraging a primary to strengthen the eventual nominee, endorsed Harris Monday. Pelosi said she was lending her “enthusiastic support” to Harris’ effort to lead the party.

More than 700 pledged delegates have told AP or announced that they plan to support Harris at the convention, which is over one-third of the pledged delegates she needs in order to clinch the nomination. Democratic National Committee rules most recently set 1,976 pledged delegates as the benchmark to win the nomination.

Winning the nomination is only the first item on a staggering political to-do list for her after Biden’s decision to exit the race, which she learned about on a Sunday morning call with the president. If she’s successful at locking up the nomination, she must also pick a running mate and pivot a massive political operation to boost her candidacy instead of Biden’s with just over 100 days until Election Day.

On Sunday afternoon, Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation of more than 1,000 staffers and a war chest that stood at nearly $96 million at the end of June. It got bigger by Monday morning: Campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said Harris had raised $49.6 million in donations in the first 15 hours after Biden’s endorsement.

Harris spent much of Sunday surrounded by family and staff, making more than 100 calls to Democratic officials to line up their support for her candidacy, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the effort. It comes as she tries to move her party past the painful, public wrangling that had defined the weeks since Biden’s disastrous June 27 debate with Trump.

Speaking to party leaders, Harris expressed gratitude for Biden’s endorsement but insisted she was looking to earn the nomination in her own right, the person said.

In a sign that the Democratic Party was moving to coalesce behind her, Harris quickly won endorsements from the leadership of several influential caucuses and political organizations, including the AAPI Victory Fund, which focuses on Asian American and Pacific Islander voters, The Collective PAC, focused on building Black political power, and the Latino Victory Fund, as well as the chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the entire Congressional Black Caucus. Harris, if elected, would be the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to be president.

Notably, a handful of men who had already been discussed as potential running mates for Harris — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly — also swiftly issued statements endorsing her. Aides to Shapiro and Cooper confirmed that Harris spoke with them Sunday afternoon. In her brief call with Cooper, the North Carolina governor told Harris he was backing her to be the Democratic nominee, according to Cooper spokeswoman Sadie Weiner.

But former President Barack Obama held off on an immediate endorsement, as some in the party have expressed worry that the quick shift to Harris would appear to be a coronation, instead pledging his support behind the eventual party nominee.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the party earlier this year but considered re-registering as a Democrat to vie for the nomination against the vice president, told CBS News on Monday that he would not be a candidate.

In an indication of how she will have to balance her day job and her new role as candidate, Harris made her first public appearance Monday morning at the White House, where she opened her address to National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams by praising Biden’s “unmatched” legacy, saying she was “deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”

Harris was filling in at the event for Biden, who is recovering at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware after contracting COVID-19 last week.

She was later set to travel to Wilmington, where the Biden campaign had been headquartered, to meet with her new campaign staff.

Harris, in a statement, praised Biden’s “selfless and patriotic act” in deciding to leave the race and said she intends to “earn and win” her party’s nomination.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she said.

Biden planned to discuss his decision to step aside later this week in an address to the nation. He wrote in a letter posted Sunday to his X account, “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

Nearly 30 minutes after he delivered the news that he was folding his campaign, Biden threw his support behind Harris.

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” he said in another post on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, but the party had announced it would hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden before in-person proceedings begin. The convention’s rules committee is scheduled to meet this week to finalize its nomination process and it is unclear how it will be adjusted to reflect Biden’s exit.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus chairwoman Nanette Barragan, who emphasized that she was “all in” behind the vice president, said she spoke Sunday with Harris, who communicated that she preferred to forgo a virtual roll call for the nomination process and instead hold a process that adheres to regular order.

The Democratic National Committee’s chair, Jaime Harrison, said in a statement that the party would “undertake a transparent and orderly process” to select “a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”

#####

AP writers Leah Askarinam, Maya Sweedler and Chad Day contributed.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Read original article by clicking here.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Read original article by clicking here.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.

• Mayor Ken Featherstone said a motive for the shooting has not yet been established. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations is now assisting in the investigation.

Mayor Ken Featherstone told Magnolia Tribune Monday afternoon that he is saddened by a shooting in Indianola on Sunday morning.

The incident occurred on Church Street not far from the Sunflower County Courthouse. A large crowd was gathered near a nightclub when shots rang out just after midnight.

According to Indianola Police Chief Ron Sampson, three 19-year-old males were shot and killed along with 13 others who were struck directly or by a ricochet bullet during the event. The names of the victims, as confirmed by the Coroner, are Areon Butler, Cameron Lee Butts and Marquette Baites.

Mayor Featherstone said several severely injured persons were transported to a hospital in Jackson.

“At this time, the case is under investigation,” the Mayor said. “Our local police department is being assisted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations. No arrests have been made at this time.”

Magnolia Tribune confirmed MBI’s assistance in the matter through the Department of Public Safety.

Mayor Featherstone said a motive for the shooting has not yet been established.

“Please keep the families of the deceased and injured in your prayers,” the Mayor said. “The City of Indianola plans to hold a candlelight vigil in honor of those who were killed and/or injured.”

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Read original article by clicking here.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.

• Mayor Ken Featherstone said a motive for the shooting has not yet been established. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations is now assisting in the investigation.

Mayor Ken Featherstone told Magnolia Tribune Monday afternoon that he is saddened by a shooting in Indianola on Sunday morning.

The incident occurred on Church Street not far from the Sunflower County Courthouse. A large crowd was gathered near a nightclub when shots rang out just after midnight.

According to Indianola Police Chief Ron Sampson, three 19-year-old males were shot and killed along with 13 others who were struck directly or by a ricochet bullet during the event. The names of the victims, as confirmed by the Coroner, are Areon Butler, Cameron Lee Butts and Marquette Baites.

Mayor Featherstone said several severely injured persons were transported to a hospital in Jackson.

“At this time, the case is under investigation,” the Mayor said. “Our local police department is being assisted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations. No arrests have been made at this time.”

Magnolia Tribune confirmed MBI’s assistance in the matter through the Department of Public Safety.

Mayor Featherstone said a motive for the shooting has not yet been established.

“Please keep the families of the deceased and injured in your prayers,” the Mayor said. “The City of Indianola plans to hold a candlelight vigil in honor of those who were killed and/or injured.”

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Read original article by clicking here.

Following the announcement from President Joe Biden that he will not be seeking reelection, a host of key Democratic leaders have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the nominee in he stead. The wave of endorsements included support from all 50 state Democratic Party chairs across the country. 

A flurry of responses sparked by the announcement included many Mississippi political leaders, but some officials appeared to be holding off on endorsing a specific candidate until a national consensus was established. However, it didn’t take long for that to come, with the Association of State Democratic Committees releasing the following just hours after Biden’s statement: 

“Following President Biden’s announcement, our members immediately assembled to unite behind the candidate who has a track record of winning tough elections, and is a proven leader on the issues that matter to Americans: reproductive freedom, gun violence prevention, climate protection, justice reform, and rebuilding the economy,” Ken Martin, president of the association, said. “That person is our sitting Vice President Kamala Harris.” 

While the Mississippi Democratic Party initially did not endorse Harris in their initial statement on Sunday, they did praise the progress initiated under Biden-Harris administration, and the Association of State Democratic Committees statement of support includes Mississippi. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration has marked some of the most progressive years in our nation’s history,” read the statement. “Joe Biden led us through a pandemic, codified same-sex marriage into law, championed student loan forgiveness, and passed a bipartisan infrastructure law that infused funds into countless communities.” 

Cheikh Taylor, recently elected chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party, argued that Democratic delegates were not disheartened by Biden’s debate performance and were “emboldened by the last four years of [Biden’s] presidency.”

So far, more than 175 congressional Democrats and Democratic governors have pledged their support for Vice President Harris ahead of the Democratic National Convention beginning August 19 in Chicago. 

In his announcement detailing the end of his reelection bid, Biden also named the vice president as his choice for the next president of the United States: 

“I want

Read original article by clicking here.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.

• Chairman Taylor believes Harris being atop the ticket improves the party’s effort to get out the vote. He says the VP can run on the economy and speak to issues important to women.

The chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party expects all 35 of the state’s delegates to back Vice President Kamala Harris for the party’s nomination for President. That’s the word from State Rep. Cheikh Taylor ahead of a Mississippi Democratic Executive Committee meeting.

Taylor spoke with Magnolia Tribune on Monday morning following the Sunday news that President Joe Biden was stepping aside and endorsing Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination. The state party chairman called Biden’s move “a selfless act,” saying it gives way to electing “the first female African American in America’s history.”

READ MORE: Biden out, endorses Kamala Harris for president

“President Biden selected Kamala Harris for his VP, and he also selected her to be President of the United States, so there’s some rumblings from folks around the country. But she’s been vetted, there should be no other hoops or obstacles in her way,” Taylor said, adding that when his fellow Democrats meet Monday, “I don’t anticipate any type of dissension, or anyone waiving on supporting her. I believe that as a state party we’re going down unified to Chicago to nominate Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.”

The Democratic National Convention is set to convene on August 19 in Chicago, Illinois. However, there could be a virtual meeting of national delegates in the lead up to the convention.

Over 91,000 Democrat voters in Mississippi cast their vote for Biden in the March 2024 primary election, handing Biden all of the state’s delegates as a result. Harris has never appeared on a Magnolia State Democratic Primary ballot for President. She also never won even one national primary for President when she ran in 2020.

Given that fact, it is easy to see how Mississippi voters could view their vote as not mattering, instead giving way to party bosses who seemingly selected the nominee. Chairman Taylor said that is “a narrative I refuse to go down.”

“This is Joe Biden’s decision for whatever reason. These are selfless acts that some men in power would not go down that path but Joe Biden being who he is determined it was the best thing for the country,” Taylor said. “So, I say this to all voters – it’s important to respect Joe Biden’s wishes because he is the one who ultimately controls this decision.”

Mississippi’s lone elected Democrat federal official, Congressman Bennie Thompson in the 2nd District, has endorsed Harris. Ty Pinkins, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Mississippi is also backing Harris.

Former Democratic nominee for Governor, Brandon Presley, has not yet publicly endorsed Harris but did share a post on X (formerly Twitter) thanking Biden for his service. Presley has said he intends to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor in 2027.

Chairman Taylor understands that Magnolia State general election voters are unlikely to hand his party’s nominee a win in Mississippi. Yet, he does believe Harris being atop the ticket improves the party’s effort to get out the vote and increase turnout.

A majority of Mississippians have not supported a Democrat for President since Jimmy Carter in 1976. In 2020, the Biden-Harris ticket lost by over 16 points to former President Donald Trump in Mississippi.

“I think everyone agrees was the candidate who made sense on paper, policy-wise he made sense, but energy was starting to run flat. It takes energy to run and win elections, especially against Donald Trump, and the Democratic Party has to be energized. Vice President Kamala Harris does that,” Taylor said.

Chairman Taylor went on to say that Harris will bring the “type of infectious energy reminiscent of Obama” to the race, while also turning out women voters, a demographic he says is the largest base of the Democratic Party.

“She’ll be able to talk about a woman’s personhood very differently than a Joe Biden or any other man in the race,” Taylor said, a nod to the Democratic Party’s continued push to restore abortion access across the nation. “She’ll be able to talk equal pay, equal work for women, and healthcare. She’ll also help down ticket races.”

Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst disagrees. He told Magnolia Tribune the name atop of the Democratic ticket won’t matter as much as the poor policies they continue to promote.

“Having Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee means is we’re going to have four more years of the disastrous policies of Joe Biden,” Hurst said. “She had one job as Vice President and that was border czar, and she failed miserably at that.”

Hurst said since Biden and Harris took office, America has had the “largest foreign invasion in our nation’s history with over 10 million illegal aliens pouring across our southern border.”

However, Taylor said Harris has been “tough on border security but can also show compassion as well,” noting her desire not to separate families.

“She will be unwavering in her strength when it comes to immigration and I think we’ll see that very quickly,” Taylor added.

The Republican chairman isn’t buying that a President Harris will do anything different than what she’s done as Vice President.

“I think changing the name doesn’t change the terrible policies of the Biden Administration,” Hurst said, adding, “Which means, a vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for runaway inflation, escalating crime and a continued unsecured border that endangers all of us.”

Yet, Democrat Chairman Taylor said the Biden Administration has had “great success,” and Harris has been a part of that every step of the way. Despite record high inflation over the last three years, increased interest rates, and rising cost of goods, Taylor believes Harris can run on the improved economic outlook facing the nation with confidence.

“It has to be about the economy and sharing in on the great success of the Biden Administration,” Taylor said. “She’s been sitting there as co-pilot, not relegated to the basement but as co-pilot to one of the most advanced and vigorous economic booms in our nation’s history.”

As for a potential running mate now that she’ll be leading the Democratic ticket, Taylor said there is probably “five or six names that bubble up to the top” for Harris. But he does see a running mate from middle America as a viable option.

“It’s all about who can bring more votes to the table,” Taylor said. “Whoever is the VP has to bring resources and support for the ticket. I don’t know who that is that the moment, but I do expect rigorous discourse on that heading into the convention.”

Names that are swirling since Biden dropped out as potential running mates for Harris include Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Arizona U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, Obama’s HUD Secretary Julián Castro, and Biden’s Transporation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

To be the nominee, Harris has to solidify 1,976 delegates to win the nomination. Biden had 3,896 committed delegates following the 2024 primary elections.

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Read original article by clicking here.