Republican Party Mississippi

Kirk Fordice was sworn in as Mississippi's first Republican governor since the Reconstruction era of 1876. Fordice, 54, a businessman who saw the Republican Party through two decades of building itself into a political force in Mississippi, won the Jackson Statehouse by defeating Democratic incumbent Ray Mabus. Fordice campaigned on a conservative platform opposing affirmative action and supporting welfare reform.

Kirk Fordice was sworn in as Mississippi's first Republican governor since the Reconstruction era of 1876. Fordice, 54, a businessman who saw the Republican Party through two decades of building itself into a political force in Mississippi, won the Jackson Statehouse by defeating Democratic incumbent Ray Mabus. Fordice campaigned on a conservative platform opposing affirmative action and supporting welfare reform.

Not long after President Bush was first sworn in, White House political guru Karl Rove and his lieutenants met with officials of nearly every Cabinet agency to brief top officials on the latest polling data and issues that could influence voters and key constituencies. But the departments of Justice, Defense and State were exempt.