Disenchanted White Democrat's Take on the 2011 Primaries: Lame
My name is Phil and I am a white Mississippi Democrat. At least I was for the last 20 years. But what's the point now? Who wants to be the last unicorn? 
As for the primaries as a whole, the Clarion-Ledger's David Hampton nailed it:
The candidates in the top races were not very dynamic and there have been no real popular issues to catch voters’ attention. The issues facing Mississippi are complex and don’t lend themselves to sound-bite solutions, but that is mostly what campaigns are about these days. Candidates avoid the tough stuff, which is good politics. Overall, the campaigns across the board have been weak, lacking bold ideas and solutions.
To put it in simpler terms, the races were lame.
I get it that all the Republican candidates want to take long showers with Haley Barbour and ride in his motorcycle's side-car. And months of “I love Haley” commercials worked. I'm ready to vote for 4 more years of Haley. The people who were actually running those commercials? Not so much. If I'm one of these guys I'm not sure that I want to be stepping into the Haley void. There is no evidence that any of them can fill Barbour's shoes.
No Republican candidate distinguished himself or herself enough to make people care. Good or bad. Dave Dennis? Who? Kingfish has been calling this one right for a while:
Still haven't figured out the Dennis campaign or if one even existed. Phil campaigned for this job for four years but I'm not sure if and when Dennis ever did.
And Phil Bryant was beatable.
Tate Reeves vs. Billy Hewes? The only difference I could identify in these two is Reeves has a better jump shot.
As for the Democratic side, it's pitiful. The Mississippi Democratic party transformation to being all African-American is almost complete. In a state with only a 37% black population, that's a losing formula.
Take for example the Hinds County Sheriff's race, where white incumbent Malcolm McMillin unwisely ran in the Democratic primary. Anderson described the result:
Due to his failure to switch parties, the inevitable has befallen Malcolm McMillin: he's lost the Hinds County Democratic primary to a black candidate for sheriff.
Does anyone think that Jim Hood could get elected Attorney General as a Democratic candidate if he was not the incumbent?
I actually feel sorry for Johnny Dupree and Bill Luckett. A run-off? That's like being in the play-in game to see who will be the 64th seed who gets to play Duke in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
On a state wide level, Mississippi is now a one party state. It's easy for me to say that's bad, since I often vote for the Democratic candidates. But after the lame 2011 primaries, it should be easy for a lot of people to agree.
Thanks for the link, Philip.
I would like to clarify that, as I hope my post makes clear, I am not at all unhappy that a black candidate won the primary (though I wish that candidate had not been Tyrone Lewis).
Like Philip, I'm making factual observations on voting behavior and electability. Whites who would've voted for McMillin, voted in the GOP primary, and it was entirely foreseeable that sooner or later this loss of support would jinx Mac in a Democratic primary, even though he probably would've won the general election.
Just read your post, Andy. What is the deal with the man-crush you have on Ogden?
I moved to the South when I retired. I am a life long Democrat I am shocked that white folks in Mississippi who say they are Democrats would rather embrace racism, exclusivity and a perpetuation of the plantation than accept that their African/American neighbors have the same standing as they do in the political process.