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Overby Center Presents ‘An Analysis of the Upcoming Mississippi General Election’
Political strategists Austin Barbour, a Republican, and Brandon Jones, a Democrat, will assess the upcoming Mississippi general election during an appearance at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 5:30 p.m.
Barbour and Jones, both veterans in Mississippi politics, will be joined in the discussion by two former national political reporters, Charles Overby, chairman of the center, and Curtis Wilkie, the inaugural Overby fellow.
“These two experts will provide informed insights in a setting of civilized discussion,” Overby said.
Barbour, who held prominent roles in past Senate campaigns of Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran, comes from a long line of Mississippi Republicans. His father, Jeppie Barbour, was one of the first members of the Mississippi Republican Party to serve as a mayor when he was elected to the post in Yazoo City nearly 50 years ago. Former Gov. Haley Barbour is Austin’s uncle.
Barbour is managing partner of the Clearwater Group, a regional public affairs firm in Jackson, and also a partner in Strategic Partners & Media, a national advertising group based in Annapolis, Maryland.
Jones, a former member of the state House of Representatives and co-founder of the Mississippi Democratic Trust, is an attorney with Baria-Jones, a law firm with offices in Jackson and Bay St. Louis. (David Baria, his law partner and the minority leader of the Mississippi House of Representatives, lost to Wicker in last year’s Senate race.) Jones has also worked as an adviser for Democratic candidates in a number of state and local campaigns in Mississippi.
The Overby Center featured Jones and Barbour last fall when they analyzed the runoff in a special election between Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican appointed to fill Cochran’s seat, and Mike Espy, a Democrat.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be in the auditorium of the Overby Center on the Ole Miss campus. A reception will follow the program. Parking will be available in the lot adjacent to the auditorium.
Press release courtesy of The Overby Center