Anyone in Mississippi with an interest in politics is already looking forward to the 2019 governor’s race, in which Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood are virtually certain to be the top candidates.
Despite the near lock Reeves and Hood have on their party’s nominations, there are a surprising number of other people who say they’re also running for governor next year.
Retired Jackson State University employee Velesha P. Williams has said she intends on challenging Hood and reportedly Magnolia Mayor Anthony Witherspoon may also throw his hat into the ring.
On the Republican side of things, Robert Foster of Hernando, a first-term member of the State Legislature, announced his candidacy earlier this week. Foster joins Reeves as well as Petal Mayor Hal Marx, who announced his candidacy earlier this year.
It’s a free country – and anybody has the right to run for any office they please – but surely Marx realizes he has no chance at winning the GOP nomination, much less becoming governor.
If the mayor’s political shaman, State Sen. Chris McDaniel, was unable to capture the statewide vote on two different tries, the Petal mayor will not fare any better.
Marx, a former school teacher and newspaper reporter, lacks the charisma of the controversial and outspoken state senator from Jones County and he has virtually no name recognition outside of Forrest County.
Simply put, the citizens of Petal deserve better.
They deserve his full attention as the city’s chief executive officer and they should not have to settle for a part-time administrator whose only goal is to build political capital.
If Marx insists on going through with his foolish gubernatorial campaign, he should at least have the decency to resign as mayor and give someone else the opportunity to do the job for which he was originally elected.
– David Gustafson
