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Southaven, MS) The longest serving mayor of Southaven is out and Republican Darren Musslewhite is in after winning nearly 80 percent of the vote. To a round of applause he arrived as city hall tonight as the mayor elect of Southaven. “I’ve got to get to work. I have a new job I’m anxious to get together with the new board and get the process going,” Musselwhite said. The insurance agency owner said Mayor Greg Davis called him Tuesday night to concede and assured him that he will help with the transition. “He was very kind and said he would...

A conservative Mississippi mayor has said he is gay after an audit showed he had the city pay for a wide range of personal expenses, including a visit to a gay sex store in Canada. Southaven Mayor Greg Davis revealed publicly for the first time Thursday that he is gay, and said he has struggled to keep his sexuality from affecting his public role as mayor of Mississippi’s third-largest city.

House GOP leaders have taken the blame for last week’s devastating loss in Mississippi, but in some Republican circles the real culprit is former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss). Lott created the House opening by opting to leave Congress late last year before tougher lobbying restrictions went into effect. After his departure, Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was appointed to serve out Lott’s unexpired term, which created the need for the special election to fill Wicker’s seat. Republicans were irked that Lott would retire early just to serve his own financial interests. But that’s only the tip of the anger iceberg for...

I am not an expert on campaign strategy, but I know a losing game plan when I see one. The Republican Party’s strategy in a series of special House elections this year has been to tie Democratic candidates to Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. How’s that working? Three straight losses, all in congressional districts President Bush carried easily in 2004. Some strategy. John McCain may well win the presidential election, but at the congressional and grassroots level, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the GOP in a more severe state of disarray. The worst result yet has come from the...

DEMOCRATS' HYBRID PICKUP TRUCKSMay 14, 2008 On the very day of a special election to fill a vacated congressional seat this week in Mississippi, The New York Times accused the Republican candidate of running racist ads against his Democratic opponent. Talk about dirty tricks! By The New York Times, that is. The Republican thus accused of racism narrowly lost the election the night the Times article appeared, so I guess the Times can proclaim: "Mission Accomplished." The ad in question, on behalf of Republican Greg Davis, pointed out that Barack Obama had endorsed Davis' opponent, Travis Childers -- another in...

In a major blow to national Republicans, a Mississippi congressional seat that once voted for President Bush by a twenty-five point margin elected a Democrat on Tuesday. Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers beat out Republican candidate Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, by a 54%-46% margin, a spread that several Republican strategists on Capitol Hill characterized as a startling wake-up call for a party in dire straits. Voters cast ballots for the fourth time in three months for the seat, vacated when Republican Roger Wicker was appointed to fill the remainder of Senator Trent Lott's term. After winning the...

Cheney to appear in 'get out the vote' rally at the Desoto Civic Center SOUTHAVEN - White House officials confirmed Friday that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will make a campaign stop on behalf of 1st U.S. Congressional candidate Greg Davis May 12, the eve of the run-off election with Democrat Travis Childers. "We can confirm the vice president will be attending a get out the vote rally for Greg Davis," Jamie Breland, spokesperson in the White House Press Office of Vice President Dick Cheney, said Friday. Tentative arrangements call for Cheney to appear with Davis in an afternoon rally...

May 1, 2008– Former Presidential candidate and Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be attending a “Meet and Greet” for Greg Davis, candidate for Congress in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. Governor Huckabee is in town to endorse Greg Davis and to ensure that the residents of the district come out and support Davis’ bid for Congress. With the special election runoff on May 13, Governor Huckabee will meet with Greg Davis and his supporters this Saturday, May 3rd at 9:45AM at Joe Joe’s Espresso & Café in Tupelo, MS. Davis stated “I’m honored to welcome Governor Huckabee to Mississippi. He...

Video link of the new ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCdgQBGnhHw Is Barack Obama Really THIS Unpopular? I wrote yesterday about Travis Childers, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Mississippi's first Congressional District. Childer's Republican opponent has been airing an ad that points out that Childers has received support from Barack Obama. In what seems a desperate attempt to preserve his general election chances, Childers has cut a stunning new ad: Childers describes the association with Barack Obama as an attack. Is that what's in store for the likely Democratic presidential candidate from other Democrats in targeted districts? It's going to make for an...

In the first two advertisements of their kind, Republicans seeking an advantage in a Mississippi special election are invoking Barack Obama in arguing that a Democratic Congressional candidate is too liberal for his district. That flies in the face of what has been conventional wisdom for months among national Democratic strategists who have not publicly taken sides in the presidential contest; many privately express more hope in Obama's potential coattails than in rival Hillary Clinton's. But while Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have made appearances in Republican advertisements before, the GOP is now taking on Obama, reflecting both...

Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sPeQ2mKRro The Republican candidate in a special election to fill an unexpectedly contested seat in a conservative Mississippi congressional district is using recent controversies surrounding Senator Barack Obama to tar his Democratic rival. A television ad from Southaven Mayor Greg Davis tells viewers that his Democratic rival, Travis Childers, a realtor and Prentiss County official, has accepted the endorsement of "liberal Barack Obama." Then, with Childers' face beside footage of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, it says, "When Obama's pastor cursed America, blaming us for 9/11, Childers said nothing." Then: "When Obama ridiculed rural folks for clinging to guns and...

Democrat Travis W. Childers led the field and just narrowly missed the majority vote he needed for an outright victory in a special election held Tuesday in Mississippi’s 1st District. Childers now moves on to a May 13 runoff with Republican Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, in a district that has a conservative lean and usually votes strongly Republican in contests for federal office. Childers received 49.4 percent, just short of the 50 percent threshold, according to complete but unofficial returns. Davis received 46.3 percent of the vote and trailed Childers by more than 2,000 votes, staving off elimination...