Local and statewide candidates had one more chance to reach the voters before the Aug. 6 primary at the Democratic Party’s beans and greens event in The Pinnacle at Coahoma Community College Thursday.
Jay Hughes, the presumptive nominee for lieutenant governor, was the keynote speaker. Rickey Cole, the presumptive nominee for agriculture commission, told about the history of beans and greens events. It was the fifth beans and greens in Coahoma County.
Coahoma County Democratic Party chair Ray Sykes said he intentionally had speakers who were unopposed for the nomination.
The Democratic Party did not endorse candidates in any of the races with opposition.
“Most of the time, having this event here, most of these folks don’t know who to vote for,” Sykes said. “They’ve never seen them and, a lot of times, we mark the ballot and say, ‘This is who we’re voting for.’ The party is trying not to say, ‘Hey, this is who we vote for,’ but to come out and have them understand the process. Having this event is educating folks.”
Candidates were able to speak for two minutes each.
A forum was held at the Coahoma County Expo Center in June where candidates also had a chance to speak with the community.
“After the event, most of the people who didn’t come who may have not understood or not wanted to come because they didn’t think it would be successful,” Sykes said. “If you look around at the tables we had, we anticipated the number of people who were going to come.”
Sykes said the beans and greens event was successful.
“They can absorb more when they can relate to people,” Sykes said. “Having this event, in my mind, is the only time when these people come together.”
Sykes said candidates who had never spoken with one another had an opportunity to sit down and eat with their opponents Thursday night.
“You look around, all that animosity that’s normally here you don’t see,” he said.
The majority of candidates for local elections are Democrats.
Specifically, all candidates for the Coahoma County Board of Supervisors are running as Democrats.
While some candidates may not have views that coincide with the Democratic Party, everyone is welcome to run as a Democrat.
“In my mind, you get into a legal battle when you tell somebody they are not a Democrat,” Sykes said. “That’s a legal thing, but if you bring them in a room to listen to Democrat views, they might be Democrat.”
Sykes said Coahoma County is a Democratic community.
“Politics says you need to win, you don’t let everybody know what you think, so you run as a Democrat,” he said. “You run as a Democrat because you’re in a Democratic county and there’s no way you can’t win without running as a Democrat. I don’t think they’re ready for that conversation. We’ve got enough division. I don’t mind going on record saying that, but I don’t think we’re ready for that conversation. We’ve got a lot of other healing to do before we deal with that issue.”
