GOP Aims for Historic Sweep in Miss., Most of South

The Republican Party has set a goal of gaining a majority of the Mississippi House in this fall’s elections for the first time since the end of the Civil War. A victory would give the GOP full control of the state executive and legislative branches, given its majority in the Senate and Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, The Wall Street Journal notes.

Attorney General Jim Hood is the only Democrat to hold one of the seven statewide office positions.

Democrats now have a 13-seat advantage in the Mississippi House, and Republicans need to pick up eight seats in the Nov. 8 election to put themselves over the top. The GOP is targeting 21 Democrats they see as vulnerable.

The state Republican Party plans to spend more than $1 million in that endeavor, said Tim Saler, the party’s executive director. The money will go to polling, voter turnout efforts, and advertising. "In some respects, we are bringing a gun to a knife fight," he told The Journal.

A Republican victory would give the party legislative and gubernatorial control in most of the South, including South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee.