Democrats to start putting resources into Mississippi for 2016.

[User157088589849]

http://www.wlox.com/story/20036358/ms-democrats-launch-plan-to-turn-state-blue-in-2016

[Grumpier Than Thou]

lol this will be like Romney's attempts to turn Minnesota blue.

[Inmate Trump]

lol this will be like Romney's attempts to turn Minnesota blue.

And Republicans never thought North Carolina or Indiana would turn blue.  Don't discount the possibility, or even the probability.  If they have the right candidate, and if the Republicans go with the same old same old, this could happen.

[pbrower2a]

lol this will be like Romney's attempts to turn Minnesota blue.

Don't be so sure.

Mississippi is one of the most corrupt states in the Union because of machine politics down to the smallest towns. A racial divide in the voting makes it easy for crooks to win re-election and exploit political patronage for personal or family/crony gain. The Republican Party in Mississippi is for all practical purpose the White People's Party and the Democratic Party in Mississippi is for all practical purposes the Black People's Party.

That is a horrible way to do politics. In most states the cure for a crooked or incompetent D pol is to vote in the opposing R pol, and the cure for a crooked or incompetent R pol is to vote for the opposing D pol.

Can that work in Mississippi? I wish it could. But Mississippi is not to be confused with Michigan.

[bore]

The key word here being Mississippi Democrats, the national party hasn't committed anything to the state, and with good reason. Anyway, its not like they've got anything better to do.

[Mehmentum]

Yeah, this isn't happening.

[sg0508]

Georgia and Arizona first.

[Devils30]

always tempting bc Dems floor is 40% but the ceiling is around 45-46 and this state has no swing voters. Little chance.

[Skill and Chance]

It could be a swing state in the 2020's, but Democrats will get GA and Republicans PA and MN first.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

It could be a swing state in the 2020's, but Democrats will get GA and Republicans PA and MN first.

The GOP will not put these into play without some serious ideological shifts in their party.  Many suburban voters just aren't seeing the GOP as a practical alternative considering their ridiculous stances on abortion, the environment, global warming, and insistence on being an anti-intellectual voice. 

[Maxwell]

fools gold

[Benj]

This isn't the national party, it's the Mississippi Democrats. It's their job to spend money to promote the Democratic Party in the state; it would be odd if they weren't doing so. It isn't as if they have anything better to do, either; Mississippi isn't exactly known as a hub of Democratic fundraising.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

The only thing Mississippi Democrats should focus on is retaking the legislature, because that's the only conceivable scenario for them over the next decade.  (Or is it?  I haven't seen the district maps.)

[Sasquatch]

This will be a waste of time and money.

[Skill and Chance]

It could be a swing state in the 2020's, but Democrats will get GA and Republicans PA and MN first.

The GOP will not put these into play without some serious ideological shifts in their party.  Many suburban voters just aren't seeing the GOP as a practical alternative considering their ridiculous stances on abortion, the environment, global warming, and insistence on being an anti-intellectual voice. 

I should have said MI instead of MN.  I actually agree with you on MN.  There is quite a strong progressive base there and something "different" about the rural areas.  But in PA and MI the union men still have much farther to swing.  With the auto bailout a distant memory and natural gas moving in, they should eventually go over the line.  I think investing in MS would be interesting just for the psychological value of flipping a Deep South state.  It would help drive up African-American turnout in the post-Obama era. 

[Frodo]

I think investing in MS would be interesting just for the psychological value of flipping a Deep South state.  It would help drive up African-American turnout in the post-Obama era. 

Wouldn't Georgia generate a better return on the investment?  Particularly as it is growing in population? It just won another congressional seat after the 2010 census. 

[Skill and Chance]

I think investing in MS would be interesting just for the psychological value of flipping a Deep South state.  It would help drive up African-American turnout in the post-Obama era. 

Wouldn't Georgia generate a better return on the investment?  Particularly as it is growing in population? It just won another congressional seat after the 2010 census. 

Basically, the 2016 Dem will have to choose between a Southern or Western strategy depending on who they are and who their opponent is. Rubio or Martinez would force the D to go the Southern route.  While Schweitzer or Hickenlooper would force the R to give up on the West and go for the Rust Belt.  Yes, GA would be the first priority in the Southern plan, but they should also take a swing at SC and MS while they are at it, particularly if FL is off the table. 

[Indy Texas]

The only hope the Democrats have for winning elections in Mississippi outside of local offices and their one VRA-protected congressional district is if the Tea Party takes over the state GOP. Mississippi is a poor state and even its conservative Republicans always make sure to send some pork down home. Thad Cochran is basically the Robert Byrd of the Gulf Coast.

If through some bizarre chain of events they sent a bunch of "true believers" to Congress who actually drank the FreedomWorks Kool Aid and didn't send a dime of federal money back to Mississippi, the Democrats might actually have a shot. When talking to black voters, they'd talk about all the local programs that were being neglected; when talking to white voters, they'd talk about how "Mississippi's hard-earned taxpayer dollars are being used to pay for handouts to folks in New Jersey and California" (not really true but it gets the blood boiling).

It'd be nice to see Ray Mabus back in state government there.