Mississippi Republican Party website provides information about Republican candidates for state and district office, including legislators and district attorneys. To find out more about candidates who are interested in running for office as independents and third-party candidates, people can visit the website of the Secretary of State. The Mississippi Democratic Party does not offer the same information. It does not have any information on who is eligible to run for Democrat in the state elections this year. Bobby Moak, chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party, stated that candidates can make announcements if they wish. Some Democrats have already announced their intention to run, including Attorney General Jim Hood who is running for Governor and many legislative candidates. Moak stated that party officials decided not to release the candidates’ lists until March 1, the deadline for candidates to be eligible to run for office. Moak stated that the party would make its candidate list public by turning it over to the Secretary-of-State’s office, as required by law. According to the leader of the state Republican Party, the strategy could signal that Democrats are facing a weak field of candidates in this year’s election. Lucien Smith, the chair of the state Republican Party, said that when you have strong candidates it is easy to want to publish a list. Each Friday, the Republicans update their list to reflect any new qualifiers. Although it is unclear why Democrats do not make their list public, Moak disagreed with the GOP leader’s suggestions about the strength and qualifications of their candidates. He said that he was pleased with the candidates who had indicated their intention to run for office in this year’s election. He also stated that he believes Democrats can be competitive in many races throughout the state. Moak stated that he had received messages from candidates stating they supported keeping the list secret until March 1, and that it does not violate state law. Leah Rupp Smith spoke for Secretary of State Delberthosemann and confirmed that the state law doesn’t require parties to make lists public before the March 1 deadline at 5 p.m. Rep. Jeramey, D-Escatawpa said that he didn’t know that this was the party’s policy and will investigate it further. He said, “I am certainly for transparency.” The list of qualified candidates, especially for legislative seats is of great interest, as Republicans attempt to retain their three-fifths supermajority and Democrats look for viable candidates capable o curtail those majorities. It will be difficult for Democrats to predict their chances of winning legislative seats this year, as they have not released and updated their candidate list. Rep. David Baria, Bay St. Louis’ House Democratic leader, stated that he was aware of the policy but questioned its wisdom, even suggesting that it could backfire. He said that many of the incumbents have stated that if their names were made public, it could discourage (challengers), from qualifying for their district._x000D