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Lucien Smith, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, speaks at a state GOP election night victory party, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Gov. Tate Reeves, as de facto head of the Mississippi GOP, plans to replace Lucien Smith as chairman of the state party, numerous Republican sources said.

The change is not because of any major political dispute, most of those sources say, and Smith has appeared to be widely respected among party leaders. It’s partly because Smith is an attorney at a major law firm that does millions of dollars in business with the state and Reeves believes that is untoward and wants a chairman with no such entanglements.

Reeves and Smith did appear to be politically crosswise recently over the Legislature changing the state flag, with its divisive Confederate battle emblem. Although the party proper didn’t take a position, Smith told Mississippi Today, “Now is the time … for Mississippi to retire its current flag and adopt a flag that unifies all Mississippians.”

Reeves, at the time, had opposed the Legislature making the change, saying that decision should be made by popular vote.

The leadership change is not likely to happen at Saturday’s state GOP convention, which is being held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans are expected to elect a 52-member executive committee, a national committeewoman and committeeman and the party’s six electors on Saturday.

A change in the state GOP chairmanship is more likely to come after the Republican National Convention that starts Aug. 24.

“I know the governor and chairman have had conversations about a change of leadership of the party,” said Reeves’ chief of staff Brad White, himself a former MSGOP chairman. “But there’s no sense of urgency and any discussion of who (a new chairman) might be is purely speculation at this point.”

White had little further comment on the issue, other than to say, “I think Lucien has been a fine chairman, and having been in that role I know how challenging it can be … He has served honorably.”

It’s typical for a sitting Republican governor, as head of the state party, to pick a new chairman. While the executive committee technically elects a GOP chairman, a governor’s choice is typically installed by acclamation. There has been no major executive committee challenge to a Republican governor’s chairman nomination in recent history.

Some party leaders said the fact that Reeves didn’t more promptly replace Smith is an indication that there’s no major conflict between the two — contrary to any rumors.

Former Gov. Phil Bryant, for instance, made it one of his first orders of business when inaugurated in 2012 to accept the resignation of then-Chairman Arnie Hederman and successfully push the nomination of Joe Nosef.

Bryant nominated Smith as the 12th chairman of the MSGOP in 2017 after Nosef abruptly resigned.

Smith, an attorney with Balch and Bingham law firm, previously served as chief of staff to Bryant and as counsel and budget adviser to former Gov. Haley Barbour. Smith ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2011.

Smith was at the helm of the party during one of its most politically prosperous times. In last year’s elections, Republicans took all eight statewide elected seats including the the governor’s office, most districtwide seats and increased their supermajority control over the Legislature.

Smith declined a request for comment, but a party spokeswoman sent a statement on Friday.

“Mississippi Republicans have enjoyed unprecedented success in recent years, and Gov. Reeves and Chairman Smith have worked together closely to build and deliver that success,” said MSGOP spokeswoman Nicole Webb. “Likewise, they have worked jointly to develop a slate of candidates to be considered for the MSGOP executive committee. The slate will be presented to delegates at (Saturday’s) state convention ….”

While several names are floating around as possible replacements for Smith, GOP sources said they hadn’t heard a definitive short list, and noted Reeves is known to keep such deliberation and decisions close to the vest.

The state Democratic Party in recent weeks saw a contentious battle for its chairmanship that resulted in the resignation of incumbent chairman Bobby Moak and the election of former Judge Tyree Irving as new chairman.

The post Gov. Tate Reeves plans to replace Republican Chairman Lucien Smith appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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Ole Miss media relations

About the only thing certain about this college football season is that we won’t have crowds like this one in Mississippi.

So the news of the day is that the Southeastern Conference has decided to play a 10-game, conference games-only football schedule this fall. Opening day is scheduled for Sept. 26. The SEC Championship game is moved back two weeks to Dec. 19.

We’ll see…

This news comes a day after the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that league will play an 11-game season that will include 10 league games and one non-conference game. Furthermore, the ACC setup will include Notre Dame as an ACC football team for the 2020 season.

Rick Cleveland

So at least we finally have answer to the age-old college football question: What will it take for Notre Dame to join a conference in football? A global pandemic, that’s what. Hell did not have to freeze over.

Interestingly, the ACC decided on the 10 and 1 format to allow for traditional in-state rivalries such as Florida-Florida State, Kentucky-Louisville, South Carolina-Clemson and Georgia-Georgia Tech to be played. One day later, the SEC answered: No need, at least not on our account.

Early reports are that Kentucky and Tennessee will be added to the Ole Miss schedule and that Florida and Vanderbilt will be added to State’s schedule. Those reports have not been confirmed and very well could be premature.

What we all must understand is that all this is tentative. Nothing at all is certain. Right now, a 10-game schedule, all SEC games, is simply a best case scenario.

I say that because if you lay a map of the Southeastern Conference’s 11-state imprint over a map of the country’s region hardest hit by the pandemic, it’s almost a match. Florida leads the nation in per capita COVID-19 cases. Mississippi is No. 2, followed by Louisiana and Alabama. Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina are all in the top 10 – a top 10 in which nobody wants to be included.

Unless these numbers change drastically – and there’s no indication that they will – it’s difficult to see a 10-game season being started, much less completed. Repeat after me: There is no social distancing in football. None.

Major League Baseball’s return to play has shown us just how iffy this all is. We are just a week into the schedule several games have been postponed. Six teams’ schedules have been altered. One team has as many as 19 positive cases. And this is Week One.

And that’s baseball, not football. That’s professional, not amateur.

Now seems a good time for a reminder that Mississippi’s current statewide restrictions limit gatherings to 10 people indoors and 20 outdoors and call for social distancing of six feet of separation between persons who do not live in the same household. College football teams have 80 or more players. They are rarely six feet apart. Granted those are the guidelines until mid-August, but we have no good indication it will change. Our numbers have not been going in the right direction.

Let’s put it this way: Much must change between now and Sept. 26 for the SEC to have any hopes of playing that 10-game, league-only schedule. And so much still must be decided: Will fans be allowed? How many? Who gets in?

More than just SEC teams are affected by this. Southern Miss was scheduled to play at Auburn Sept. 26. That game, which would have paid Southern Miss $1.85 million, obviously won’t be played. And so an already strapped USM athletic budget takes a huge hit. These days, everybody is taking financial hits.

USM athletic director Jeremy McClain announced he will search for another game on that date. He was already searching for a game on Sept. 19 to replace Jackson State because the SWAC, to which Jackson State belongs, has postponed its football season until spring.

That SWAC plan, too, is a best-case scenario. Right now, until we have a vaccine, everything is tentative.

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