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Republican Roger Wicker, appointed to the Senate last year when Trent Lott resigned, has opened an 11-point lead over Democratic challenger Ronnie Musgrove in Mississippi. The latest Rasmussen Reports poll of the state finds Wicker leading his opponent 54% to 43% in the state's special Senate race. At the end of September, Wicker slipped to a two-point advantage over Musgrove. The race was also tight in May and June, but Wicker had begun pulling away over the summer. In August he led 47% to 42%.

There’s little change in the race between appointed U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R) and former Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D). The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Mississippi found Wicker attracts 47% of the vote, while Musgrove earns support from 42%. Last month, Wicker had a six-point edge. When “leaners” are included, Wicker’s lead expands to nine percentage points, 52% to 43%. That’s the same as last month’s total.

New Web Ad: Ronnie Musgrove Bumbling Along Ronnie Musgrove just can't get his story straight surrounding his criminal contributors:   The Facility Group's Robert Moultrie (connected to the $55 million beef plant failure): Plead guilty to "'knowingly and unlawfully rewarding an agent' of Mississippi government with a 'gratuity.'" (That public official was Ronnie Musgrove) Paul Minor: Convicted of bribery Dickie Scruggs: Sentenced to jail for conspiring to bribe a judge Help Roger Wicker Defear Bumbling Musgrovehttp://www.wickerforsenate.com/    

It's a no good, very bad, horrible, terrible day for Musgrove WASHINGTON, DC -- Ronnie Musgrove is having arguably his worst day ever. First, he was named as the public official in the Mississippi Beef Processors Plant case. Then, the most recent defendant in the Beef case pleaded guilty to giving Musgrove a $25,000 "gratuity." News articles are even reporting there may be more action in the Beef case this week. And now, the news is reporting that former trial lawyer Paul Minor -- who gave more than $171,000 to Musgrove's campaigns -- is asking to be freed from jail....

OXFORD - Beef Plant defendants Nixon Cawood and Charles Morehead, executives with The Facility Group of Georgia, are set to change their plea to guilty on a one-count information Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. So says two filings late today in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Mississippi. Cawood's hearing is set for 10 a.m. before Chief Judge Michael P. Mills. Moreheads is set for 10 a.m. Thursday. An information is a legal charge short of an indictment, which comes from a grand jury. No other details were available, but it seems possible Cawood and Morehead will follow...

“I’ll get to the worn-out old political tricks in just a moment,” the former governor said calmly as supporters of U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker interrupted Musgrove’s speech with chants of “Ro-GER! Ro-GER! Ro-GER!” Musgrove is trying to unseat Wicker in a November special election that’s attracting national attention as Democrats try to strengthen their majority in the U.S. Senate. “Almost three decades ago, Ronald Reagan spoke from this very stage,” Musgrove said. “During that campaign, Ronald Reagan asked Americans a very simple question. It’s the same question I ask today — are you better off now than you were a...

Just one week after Democrats picked up Sen. Roger Wicker's (R-Miss.) former House seat in northeast Mississippi, the party's Senate campaign committee released a new poll showing Wicker trailing former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) in November's special election Senate race. The poll shows Musgrove leading Wicker 48 to 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup. Musgrove holds a 57 percent favorability rating, while 30 percent of voters view him unfavorably. Wicker also sports high approval ratings, but is less known throughout the state - which is partially attributable for his polling deficit.

Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove announced his candidacy today for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Trent Lott. Gov. Haley Barbour has appointed former U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker to fill the Senate post until the November election. “There is a complete disconnect between what they argue about in Washington and what people worry about at home,” Musgrove, a Democrat, said in announcing his candidacy during a series of events in Tupelo, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Gulfport. Musgrove strongly condemned the fiscal and economic policies of Congress, including “the deficit spending, the pork barrel earmarks, the spending money they don’t have and...

OXFORD, Miss. -- Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that he will run for the U.S. Senate. Musgrove plans to hold a series of news conferences Monday in Tupelo, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Gulfport. "I'll be announcing, yes," Musgrove told the AP in a telephone interview from his law office in Madison County. Musgrove, a Democrat, will run in a special election against Republican Roger Wicker, who was appointed this week to fill the job left vacant by the retirement of the GOP's Trent Lott. The date of the special election is in dispute. Republican...

It’s not science, but a recent poll of 600 Mississippi voters shows U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker of Tupelo might do pretty well in a head-to-head Senate race against former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. Conducted Dec. 10-12 by Research 2000 of Olney, Md., the telephone poll was conducted before former Attorney General Mike Moore took his name out of contention, but its results show Wicker would beat the charismatic Moore and Musgrove, if they were pitted for the Senate race. The margin of error is 4 percentage points, and black voters may have been under-surveyed. They make up 34 percent of the...

<p>Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove will teach history and political science classes to undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi starting this semester, he told The Associated Press Tuesday.</p> <p>Minutes after watching his successor take the oath of office, the Democrat said he looks forward to working at his alma mater.</p>

<p>Republican Haley Barbour pledged to have a colorblind administration while campaigning for governor. However, of 10 key agency heads he has appointed in preparation for taking office, all but one is a white male, including an appointment announced Monday.</p> <p>Barbour introduced Wallace Conerly, retired vice chancellor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, as interim chief of the Division of Medicaid.</p>

<p>HATTIESBURG — A Perry County couple want Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to consider clemency for their grandson as the departing chief executive reviews hundreds of requests from families of state inmates.</p> <p>James and Betty Brady want freedom for Robert Perry, whom they raised and who is serving a life sentence for the 1992 shotgun slaying of his best friend. If history is any indication, he has a slim chance of getting the pardon.</p>

<p>Gov.-elect Haley Barbour doesn't take office until Jan. 13, but he is already trying to make good on a campaign promise.</p> <p>Barbour on Wednesday announced details of a job creation summit in Jackson Dec. 15-16.</p> <p>White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Federal Express CEO Fred Smith, a Marks native, are the keynote speakers for the summit, which will bring together business, higher education and political leaders to develop plans to spark Mississippi's economy.</p>

The importance of beating Haley Robert Novak (archive) October 30, 2003 JACKSON, Miss. -- Rudy Giuliani was here earlier. Dick Cheney campaigned in the state Monday. George W. Bush on Saturday will make two stops in Mississippi. And to cap it off, auto driver Darrell Waltrip arrives before Tuesday's election. All are trying their best to elect as governor Haley Barbour, a major player in national Republican politics for a generation. No prominent national Democrat dares set foot in the state to help re-elect Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. He would meet Bill Clinton or Al Gore at the state line to...

Musgrove delivers radio address as Bush campaigns for Barbour By MATT VOLZ Associated Press Writer November 1, 2003 JACKSON, Miss. - As President Bush headed to Mississippi to campaign for Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's opponent, Musgrove used the Democrats' weekly radio address Saturday to boast that he has created jobs and improved education despite tough economic times. Musgrove faces Republican challenger Haley Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, in next Tuesday's election. He told his audience that Mississippi is a different state than some may think. "Some people think of Mississippi as a state with cotton fields, racial...

Bush stumps for GOP gubernatorial candidates in Mississippi, Kentucky By DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press Writer November 1, 2003 CRAWFORD, Texas - In a test of his popularity a year before his own race for re-election, President Bush is standing with Republican gubernatorial candidates trying to replace Democrats in Mississippi and Kentucky. Bush's agenda included campaign stops Saturday in Mississippi for former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour, who is trying to unseat Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. The president planned to visit Southaven and Gulfport, two GOP strongholds at opposite ends of the state. In Kentucky, the president was to visit...

<p>Republican Haley Barbour has made frequent appeals to black Mississippians this election year, holding meetings in their communities and asking for votes that traditionally go to Democrats.</p> <p>Barbour, who is trying to unseat Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, often says he hopes to garner more votes in the African-American community than any other Republican candidate in Mississippi, and some black voters are taking notice.</p>

Life long National Rifle Association member Governor Ronnie Musgrove receives an endorsement for re-election by the organization. This is the fifth time in Musgrove’s political career the NRA has endorsed the candidate. Musgrove scored an "A" rating on the organization's candidate questionnaire. NRA officials say the governor's record shows a commitment to the right's of Mississippi's law abiding gun owners. Musgrove says he'll fight any laws restricting second amendment rights.

Third-party candidates could deny majority vote By GEOFF PENDER THE SUN HERALD Election Day is Nov. 4, but a perfect storm may be brewing that could delay the selection of a governor for days, weeks or even months. Third-party candidates threaten to siphon enough votes to deny either the incumbent, Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, or Republican challenger Haley Barbour the majority vote required by Mississippi law. The two have been tracking even for most of the campaign season, each polling in the mid-40 percent range, and with Election Day two weeks away, the possibility grows that neither would receive a majority...

<p>History can often be in the hands of Mississippi's lieutenant governor.</p> <p>Oct. 25 Circuit clerks' offices must remain open until noon for absentee voting.</p> <p>Last day to vote by absentee ballots in the circuit clerk offices.</p> <p>Mailed absentee ballots must be received by 5 p.m.</p>

<p>Haley Barbour's decision to engage Ronnie Musgrove over the state flag issue is one that the governor undeniably brought on himself.</p> <p>During the course of the 2003 campaign, Musgrove and his out-of-state campaign manager have pounded Barbour repeatedly with the accusations that the Yazoo City lawyer isn't "from" or "for" Mississippi. The most frequent attack by Musgrove's camp is that Barbour is somehow "out of touch" with the majority of Mississippians.</p>

Some undecided voters hope candidates stick to issues, stop attacks Pamela Junior is so sick of the attack ads from Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and his Republican challenger, Haley Barbour, that she says she doesn't want to vote for either one. "I don't want to hear about NAFTA. I don't care about what jobs we've lost. I don't care who brought Nissan here. It's here. Now what?" said Junior, a 45-year-old Jackson resident and mother of two teenage sons. "Tell me what you're going to do." Junior, manager of Smith Robertson Museum in Jackson, said she wants to hear the...

<p>Ronnie Musgrove and Haley Barbour have raised so much money in their campaigns for governor that even some seasoned political pros can't figure out how they can possibly spend it all by Election Day.</p> <p>Oct. 3: Last day to register in a circuit clerk's office to vote in the general election, if the offices opt not to open Oct. 4. Oct. 5: Mail-in registration forms must be postmarked no later than this day to be accepted for the general election.</p>

Your phone may start ringing more. There could be a knock at your door. Glossy campaign literature will be stuffed into your mailbox. You may even find Ronnie Musgrove or Haley Barbour trying to shake your hand as you get your hair cut or run errands downtown. The countdown to Election Day has begun. For Mississippians, that means a premium will be placed on their attention and, ultimately, their vote on Nov. 4. For the heavyweight gubernatorial candidates and party officials, that means an intensive, statewide grass-roots effort to maximize face-to-face contact with voters and secure support from as many...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and his Republican rival Haley Barbour said Mississippi would take the Ten Commandments monument that was removed Wednesday from a public area of the Alabama Supreme Court building. The separate statements were issued within minutes of each other, and it's unclear which was written first. "For too long our courts and politicians have interpreted every American freedom of religion as freedom from religion," Musgrove wrote in letter to suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who installed the 5,280-pound monument two years ago in the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. "It would be...

<p>Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and his Republican challenger, Haley Barbour, have agreed to four debates between Sept. 21 and Oct. 21, campaign representatives said Tuesday.</p> <p>The debates will be held in Jackson, at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Delta State University in Cleveland, and at a location on the Gulf Coast.</p>

People who are already looking at the 2004 elections need to stop and take a look at little Mississippi in 2003.

<p>Millions of dollars from homemakers to business executives have been rolling in for major gubernatorial candidates Ronnie Musgrove and Haley Barbour, but their most generous friends this year seem to be the governors' associations.</p> <p>Collectively, the associations have forked over $1.6 million for Mississippi, one of only three gubernatorial races in the country.</p>

BILOXI, Miss. - Haley Barbour, longtime Republican power broker and high-paid Washington lobbyist for some of the world's richest corporations, is back in his native Mississippi, working the fish-fry and county-fair circuit in one of America's poorest states. He is trying to get himself elected governor. "I'm running for governor because I know Mississippi can do better," Barbour said recently. "We're not reaching our potential. In fact, we're going backward." The former chairman of the Republican National Committee has said he wants to use his Washington connections to help Mississippi create jobs. The governorship might be considered a step down...

<p>On the 2003 Neshoba County Fair political front, there's good news and bad for the state's political junkies. Good news? Loads of political speaking. Bad news? No gubernatorial debate.</p> <p>Fair board member Scott Bounds confirmed that fact this week.</p> <p>The venerable campground fair held the first debate in the 107-year history of political speaking at the fair in 1995 when incumbent Republican Gov. Kirk Fordice met Democratic challenger and Neshoba County native Dick Molpus under the tin roof of the Founder's Square Pavilion before a crowd of several thousand on the grounds and a statewide television audience.</p>

July 3, 2003 Candidates waffle on local tax option By Julie Goodman jgoodman@clarionledger.com BILOXI — Municipal officials across the state angling for another chance at getting a local tax to help them fund capital projects learned the art of waffling Wednesday from the state's two heavy-weight gubernatorial candidates in their first debate. Republican gubernatorial candidate Haley Barbour said he wouldn't push for the measure if he is elected, but then again he might not veto it if it passed the Legislature, either. Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove said he wanted to be "fair and equitable." Only in questioning after the Mississippi...

<p>Is former Gov. Kirk Fordice's second divorce worthy of the media circus it produced?</p> <p>Nope.</p> <p>Newsworthy? Marginally. Fordice is a public figure and people remain interested in his life story. To that extent, the story was newsworthy.</p> <p>Did we need to see that?</p>

<p>Three gubernatorial campaign television ads for Haley Barbour project the Washington, D.C., lobbyist as a Mississippi native, a Yazoo City high school graduate and a former football captain who wasn't quite built for the basketball team.</p> <p>The 30-second spots, which have aired on network and cable stations over the past several months, touch on education, leadership and patriotism, in what one political observer calls "warm and fuzzy" messages that are heavy on symbolism but short on substance.</p>

<p>BILOXI — Mississippi needs to use millions of extra dollars from the federal government to repay trust funds for highways and health care, Republican gubernatorial candidate Haley Barbour said Saturday.</p> <p>Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove has said the money will cover unfunded mandates handed down by Republicans in Washington, including President Bush's No Child Left Behind education program.</p>

BILOXI, Miss. - Vice President Dick Cheney made his first political appearance for another candidate this election season, stumping for Haley Barbour in the Mississippi's governor's race. On Monday, Cheney spoke to about 1,700 people at a $100 a plate fund-raising lunch for Barbour, a Washington lobbyist and former Republican National Committee chairman. "He knows how to bring people together to get things done," Cheney said. The vice president called Barbour one of the most effective chairmen of the Republican National Committee. While Barbour held that position from 1993 to 1997, Cheney said, the number of Republican governors grew from...

<p>Gubernatorial candidate Mitch Tyner said Wednesday opponent Haley Barbour tried to secure a $50 billion tax break for the tobacco industry in 1997 — a statement Barbour dismissed as deception as the two Republicans traded verbal jabs.</p> <p>July 3: Voter registration — The deadline to register at circuit clerk offices to vote in the primary election, though clerks' offices may remain open July 5 until noon.</p>

<p>Republican gubernatorial candidate Haley Barbour pumped more than $2 million into his coffer this year, compared with the $837,696 raised by Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, according to campaign finance reports filed Friday.</p> <p>Musgrove, who is seeking a second term, was outpaced by Barbour in total funds, with Barbour raising $2.4 million to Musgrove's $2.3 million.</p>

<p>GOP lobbyist running for governor attending dinners in D.C.</p> <p>WASHINGTON — Haley Barbour has raised millions of dollars for Republican candidates, and many will have a chance to pay him back, at least in part, tonight.</p> <p>A Republican lobbyist who wants to unseat Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, Barbour will be the guest at two back-to-back fund raisings today at a Capitol Hill hotel.</p>

Haley Barbour senses opening for good ol' Republican governor By Reed Branson branson@gomemphis.com May 5, 2003 Editor's note: This is one of an occasional series of stories from the campaign trail on the candidates seeking office in Mississippi this year. BOONEVILLE, Miss. - Republican Haley Barbour is treading on traditionally Democratic soil here in Northeast Mississippi - and not too lightly. The former national Republican operative-turned-super-lobbyist blazed through the breakfast buffets and coffee shops of Prentiss, Alcorn and Itawamba counties recently, targeting these crucial swing counties where the remnants of a rural, white New Deal-inspired Democratic tradition remain palpable. Democrat...

<p>Mississippi is one of three states that will be hotbeds of political activity this year, which could prompt a visit from President Bush.</p> <p>Because most states held statewide elections last year, all eyes are now focused on Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky.</p>

<p>Jackson lawyer Delbert Hosemann did the math, adding up a sluggish economy and the rising price of running a statewide campaign.</p> <p>The result?</p> <p>The Republican pulled out of the race for attorney general over concerns his party's donors would be drained financially during the August primary and left with little money for the November general election.</p>

<p>Whew! Boy, I'm glad we got that out of the way.</p> <p>Early in the 2003 governor's race, the two leading candidates have said that despite a state government financial crisis that no new taxes are necessary to solve the problem.</p>

Miss. GOP hopes tide will deliver statehouse NEWS ANALYSIS By Reed Branson branson@gomemphis.com March 23, 2003 JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Republicans, basking in the glow of victory after last November's national elections, are salivating these days at the prospect of a sweeping takeover of the statehouse. Mississippi is one of three states that will hold gubernatorial and statewide elections this year (Kentucky and Louisiana are the others). Republican party leaders here hope they can carry momentum from last November's election and capitalize on a divided Democratic Party and voter anxiety over the state's economy. To be sure, November's election is...

JACKSON, Miss. - Trial lawyer John Arthur Eaves Jr. dropped out of the Mississippi governor's race Tuesday, leaving Gov. Ronnie Musgrove without a big-name opponent in the Democratic primary. John Arthur Eaves Jr. said the campaign was taking too much time away from his family. He did not immediately endorse Musgrove or any of the four lesser-known Democratic candidates. Musgrove campaign manager Lisa McMurray said the campaign wished Eaves luck in his future endeavors. Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole said Eaves' decision will let Musgrove save energy and money to face the Republicans. Party primaries will be held Aug....

JACKSON, Miss. - Trial lawyer John Arthur Eaves Jr. dropped out of the Mississippi governor's race Tuesday, leaving Gov. Ronnie Musgrove without a big-name opponent in the Democratic primary. John Arthur Eaves Jr. said the campaign was taking too much time away from his family. He did not immediately endorse Musgrove or any of the four lesser-known Democratic candidates. Musgrove campaign manager Lisa McMurray said the campaign wished Eaves luck in his future endeavors. Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole said Eaves' decision will let Musgrove save energy and money to face the Republicans. Party primaries will be held Aug....

Musgrove Out??? Mabus, Dowdy, Moore, and Roberts Are All In the Rumor Mill Speculation Builds... Musgrove rumored to have called contributors Tuesday night to talk about a possible exit from the Governors Race.

Rep. John Read of Gautier, a Democrat since first winning election in 1992, has qualified to run as a Republican. He will be seeking a fourth term. Read is the fifth lawmaker to switch to the GOP since December, when Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck left the Democrats. Read said he changed parties to better represent his Jackson County district, which is overwhelmingly Republican. He said the decision won't affect the way he votes in the House. "I've always been a conservative," he said. "A lot of people have always assumed that I was a Republican." There are now 82 Democrats,...

JACKSON—Party-switching in the Legislature, rumored in the works since Democratic Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck’s conversion a month ago but put on hold by Trent Lott’s fall from grace, is apparently about to crank off as lawmakers come to town next Tuesday for their 2003 session. Reports were that that at least two Democratic senators, and possibly four House members, will jump to the GOP. Supposedly, say Republican insiders, conversions will be spread out over a few days rather than all at once. Two Senators thought most likely to switch were Travis Little of Corinth, the Senate President Pro-tem and Tuck’s...