At the recent Mississippi Historical Society annual meeting Jere Nash and Andy Taggart accepted the 2006 McLemore Prize for their book, Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976–2006. The McLemore Prize is awarded by the Mississippi Historical Society to the best book on a subject related to Mississippi history or biography published during the previous year. The book chronicles the state’s transformation from an overwhelmingly Democratic region to a Republican stronghold. Nash and Taggart interviewed 115 people while writing the book, and drew on 70 existing interviews. The book profiles public officials, candidates, lobbyists, legislators, and others who changed the state’s political landscape and reveals the public and backroom pressures that shaped the state’s history.
Mississippi Politics also features a foreword by novelist and former Mississippi legislator John Grisham.
Jere Nash has served as a campaign consultant for a number of Democratic candidates in Mississippi for the past 13 years. Previously he was director of Common Cause in Mississippi, executive director of Mississippi First, deputy state auditor, and director of policy and chief of staff for Governor Ray Mabus.
Andy Taggart practices law in Madison, is a partner in a business development firm, and serves on the Madison County Board of Supervisors. Previously he was executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party, chief of staff for Governor Kirk Fordice, and president/CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance.
For more information on the McLemore Prize please contact Chris Goodwin at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. For more information about the book or its authors please contact Clint Kimberling, Publicist, at the University Press of Mississippi.
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