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Red or blue? Stormy shakeup on the Coast, but will it matter in November?

Article Excerpt
Few things on the Mississippi Gulf Coast remained unchanged after August 29, 2005, and that includes the political dynamics of one of the largest, most prosperous areas of the state.

There was widespread unhappiness with the bungled response to the disaster by FEMA and with difficulties getting insurance companies to pay for damages. And Gov. Haley Barbour was credited with being effective at bringing in huge sums of federal aid for rebuilding. But how those factors affect the Democratic-Republican makeup of the Coast is not clear.

"There is no doubt there have been quite a few people moving into and out of the coastal area since Hurricane Katrina," said Melton Harris, District Two supervisor for Jackson County and former long-time chairman of the Jackson County Democratic Executive Committee. "This next election will be a good opportunity to find out if those who have moved into the area are more aligned with the Democratic or Republican Party. That hasn't been tested before."

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Harris said U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat, is "cast in concrete." It would be difficult to unseat the maverick Democrat who has managed to be re-elected even while the Coast has primarily voted Republican in other races.

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With incumbents usually heavily favored for reelection, the U.S. Senate race between Sen. Roger Wicker, who was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Sen. Trent Lott, and former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, has generated significant interest.

"From what I hear, a lot of folks are very concerned about seeing some new faces...