JACKSON - Jackson attorney Delbert Hosemann continues to accumulate more campaign cash than former Columbus Mayor Jeffrey Rupp and other candidates in the race for secretary of state.

With the party primaries four weeks away, Hosemann has more than $380,000 in the bank while Rupp has about $90,000, according to financial reports filed Tuesday. The two want to be the Republican nominee to succeed outgoing Secretary of State Eric Clark.

State Rep. Mike Lott of Petal trails in the Republican race for money with about $38,000. A fourth candidate - Gene Sills of Crystal Springs - did not file his report with the secretary of state as required by state law on Tuesday.

In the Democratic field of secretary of state candidates, attorney John Windsor of Corinth is far ahead of former state Sen. Rob Smith of Richland in having money to campaign for their party's nomination. Windsor has about $114,700 while Smith has $1,800. A third candidate - Jabari Toins of Jackson - didn't have a report filed Tuesday.

All total, Hosemann has raised more than $428,400 while Rupp has received about $144,000. Lott has gotten at least $43,300.

Hosemann and Rupp this year have spent about the same amount of campaign money through June: $47,100 and $43,300.

Windsor has collected more than $152,300. About $19,700 has been given to Smith's campaign.

Hosemann's latest report - which reflects campaign finances through June - shows he's put $40,350 of his own money into the race. Other large donors in June include the Home Builders Association of Mississippi, which contributed $2,500 and endorsed Hosemann.

Rupp's large donors in June include Peavey Electronics, the sound-amplifier manufacturer based in Meridian, and Fulton construction company owner Johnny Crane. They each gave $1,000.

The Republican and Democratic primaries are Aug. 7. If candidates don't win majorities then, runoffs will be Aug. 28.

The two parties' nominees will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.

Clark, who's been secretary of state since 1996, is not running for re-election.

The secretary of state is Mississippi's chief elections officer and registrar of government lobbyists. He also collects campaign finance reports and performs a variety of other duties, such as supervising public lands, regulating investment consultants and publishing the Mississippi Official and Statistic Register - the “Blue Book.”

As he trails Hosemann in getting money, Rupp has said his strategy is to focus on getting Republican voters out in his north Mississippi base and make it into the second primary.

“We can get to a runoff and start over from scratch,” said Rupp, who served as Columbus mayor for five years before resigning last year to take a job at Mississippi State University and move to Starkville.

In an effort to appeal to north Mississippi voters, Hosemann issued a statement Tuesday critical of how the state Legislature shortchanges 45 school districts in the region that don't have the revenue-generating 16th Section lands that most Mississippi schools benefit from. Lawmakers use an old funding method, he said.

“Antiquated formulas produce antiquated education. All of the students in our state, no matter in what county, should receive the same funding to ensure they have an equal opportunity for success.”

 

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