MississippiBy Caley Turner, Steven Weeks, Erica Walker, and Dustin Davis

Basic FactsCapital City: JacksonPopulation in 2005: 2,921,088Number of Counties: 82Percentage White: 61.4Percentage Black: 36.3Governor: Haley Barbour (R)Lieut. Governor: Phil Bryant (R)Senators: Thad Cochran (R) & Roger Wicker (R)Secy. Of State: Delbert Hosemann (R)Attorney General: Jim Hood (D)Median Household Income: ~32,000

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108232.html

Partisan Makeup of Mississippi

In recent Presidential elections, the state has trended Republican (in 2004, there were 46 R counties vs. 18 D. counties)

Polls show that on a local level, however, citizens identify with Democratic ideals; In 2008, Democrats held an advantage, by only about 1%

Senate Seats: 27 D/25 R House Seats: 74 D/48 R

2008 Election Results

Two Party Competitive

http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president

Economics Pre Civil War:--5th wealthiest state in the nation--Cotton plantations--Slaves as property--Low population

Post Civil War:Drop in Wealth; $500 million (43% slave value) to $177 million in total assetsCollapse of Cotton (Lost value, Lost crops due to floods and drought, Labor migration)

Economics Today

Gulf and River Casinos– Before Katrina Miss. had 2nd largest

Industry (just after Nevada)– Continuously expanding

Poorest state In the nation; reliant on Federal subsidies

Still somewhat reliant on cotton; Map shows cotton production in US and Mississippi

http://ks.water.usgs.gov/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.022-98.fig.1.gif