Mississippi Republican Party

Mississippi Republican Party
Chairman	Arnie Hederman[1]
Senate leader	Phil Bryant
House leader	Mark Baker[2]
Headquarters	P.O. Box 60, Jackson, Mississippi 39205
Ideology	Center-right Conservatism
National affiliation	Republican Party
Official colors	Red
Seats in the Upper House	27 / 52
Seats in the Lower House	54 / 122
Website
http://msgop.org/
Politics of the United States Political parties Elections

Haley Barbour, current Governor of Mississippi.

The Mississippi Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party. The party chairman is Arnie Hederman and is based in Jackson, Mississippi. The party is the majority in the state.

History

In 1956, Wirt A. Yerger, Jr. founded the modern Mississippi Republican Party and served as the first State Chairman from 1956 until 1966. He was Chairman of the Mississippi Delegation to the Republican National Convention in 1956, 1960 and 1964. He was elected to a four-year term as Chairman of the Southern Association of Republican State Chairman in 1960. In 2009, the Central Committee of the Mississippi Republican Party named Yerger Chairman Emeritus.

Gubernatorial elections

In 1963, Rubel Phillips became the first Republican nominee for governor in 80 years, challenging then-Lt. Gov. Paul Johnson, Jr. and garnering 38% of the vote. Phillips ran again in 1967 against John Bell Williams but lost again, this time earning 29% of the vote. In the 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election, current governor Haley Barbour defeated then incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove with 52.59% of the vote. ^[3] Phil Bryant is the 2012 Republican Governor Elect for Governor of Mississippi. ^[4]

Policy positions

While Mississippi Republicans take positions on a wide variety of issues, some of the noteworthy ones include:

• Abortion - "Protecting and securing the 'life, liberty, and property' of Mississippians begins first with guarding the life of the unborn child. Our policies should honor the sanctity of innocent human life."^[5] In November 2011, Governor Haley Barbour voted for Mississippi Initiative 26. ^[6] Initiative #26 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to define the word “person” or “persons”, as those terms are used in Article III of the state constitution, to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof. ^[7]
• Education - "Our instructors must have the freedom to teach, our students must have the opportunity to learn, and our policies should focus on the classroom – not the boardroom." ^[8]
• Energy policy - "Natural resources can both be utilized and protected. This is the balance our environmental policy must seek."
• Voting rights - In January 2009, Republican Senator Joesph Filligane put forward Mississippi Initiative 27 which would amend the Mississippi Constitution to require voters to submit a government issued photo identification before being allowed to vote. This initiative passed on November 8th, 2011 ^[9]
• Private property - Republican Party members supported Mississippi Initiative 31 on the topic of eminent domain. Initiative #31 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to prohibit state and local government from taking private property by eminent domain and then conveying it to other persons or private businesses for a period of 10 years after acquisition. ^[10]

Current Republican officeholders

The Mississippi Republican Party holds seven of the eight statewide offices and holds a majority in the Mississippi Senate. Republicans also hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 3 of the state's 4 U.S. House seats.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

• Thad Cochran
• Roger Wicker

U.S. House of Representatives

• MS-01: Alan Nunnelee
• MS-03: Gregg Harper
• MS-04: Steven Palazzo

Statewide offices

• Governor: Haley Barbour
• Lieutenant Governor: Phil Bryant
• Secretary of State: Delbert Hosemann
• State Auditor: Stacey Pickering
• State Treasurer: Tate Reeves
• Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce: Lester Spell
• Commissioner of Insurance: Mike Chaney

References

1. ^ http://msbusiness.com/2011/02/hederman-to-chair-msgop/
2. ^ http://markbakeronline.com/
3. ^ http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2003GeneralReCap/Certified/01Governor.pdf
4. ^ http://philbryant.com/index.php
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ http://www.sunherald.com/2011/11/03/3552207/barbour-votes-for-personhood-prop.html
7. ^ http://www.sos.ms.gov/page.aspx?s=7&s1=1&s2=50
8. ^ http://msgop.org/
9. ^ http://www.sos.ms.gov/page.aspx?s=7&s1=1&s2=84
10. ^ http://www.sos.ms.gov/page.aspx?s=7&s1=1&s2=84

External links

• Mississippi Republican Party