The Secretary of State's seat is open for the first time since 1995. From a political party's perspective, this race is important because the Secretary of State oversees elections. A Republican win in this office means the GOP will control the election machinery of state government, and readers of the MBJ will remember how helpful that control was to George W. Bush in Florida in 2000.

 

The Republican candidates are former Columbus mayor Jeffrey Rupp, state representative Mike Lott of Petal, and Jackson lawyer Delbert Hosemann, while the major Democratic candidates are former state senator Rob Smith and assistant Attorney General John Windsor. Smith has run statewide before while Hosemann has made competitive, albeit unsuccessful, runs for Congress. Windsor is from Northeast Mississippi, which always gives a Democratic candidate a boost, especially in the primary. Rupp recently left his post as mayor of Columbus with generally positive reviews to take a top administrative post at Mississippi State. Lott has been a vocal leader in anti-immigration legislation this year.

 

Since none of these candidates is well known to the average voter, the outcome of this race will be determined by money - the candidate who raises the most and spends the most wins.