JACKSON - Now, there are two former lobbyists in the 2007 Mississippi governor's race.
Former state senator and Musgrove administration chief of staff Bill Renick of Ashland on Jan. 8 became the first Democrat to qualify to seek his party's nomination against incumbent Republican Gov. Haley Barbour in the 2007 general election.
Renick, known during his time in the state Senate and as Musgrove's righthand man as a pugnacious, plain-spoken battler, would make an interesting opponent for Barbour.
Currently the executive director of the Marshall County Industrial Development Authority, Renick brings a courthouse-to-statehouse mix of experience to the table.
A former Ashland alderman and mayor, Renick served as a Benton County supervisor before being elected to the Senate in 1987. He served one term in that post.
While a senator in 1989, Renick was the target of a lawsuit by the state attorney general's office and the state Ethics Commission seeking recovery of $93,064 they claimed Renick obtained as a result of Benton County supervisors' actions that benefited his trucking company.
Renick denied the allegations, and the lawsuit was later dismissed.
For five years, he served as administrator of the Holly Springs Memorial Hospital. After leaving the Senate, Renick worked as as administrative assistant to former Republican Lt. Gov. Eddie Briggs.
Renick has also served as president of the Mississippi Retail Association and lobbied for that organization and other business groups.
His last state government job came in 2001 when former Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove appointed him chief of staff. Renick succeeded David Cole, who returned to his post as president of Itawamba Community College.
Renick served in the $150,000-per-year post until the end of Musgrove's term as governor, when Barbour defeated Musgrove in the 2003 general election.
A graduate of Frayser High School in Memphis, Renick's personality is pure good ole boy, but that persona masks a man with a quick mind, a formidable temper and one not quickly intimidated.
Renick signaled his intentions this week in an e-mail to potential political backers that read:
"If nothing slips and tears between now and tomorrow (Tuesday) I plan to file my qualifying papers to become a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor.
"I have put a lot of thought and prayer into this and I just keep coming up with the same gut feeling. I realize this will be a tremendous challenge, but it is one that with the help of a lot of people and especially friends like y'all that can be successful.
"I assure you that I am committed to that challenge. I will not be making a formal announcement tomorrow but I will be filing my papers with the party office in Jackson," Renick wrote.
Renick was unavailable for comment Tuesday at the Marshall County IDA office in Holly Springs.
It's also interesting to note that while no other Democrats have filed qualifying papers to challenge Barbour, Renick's former close Senate ally and roommate had in 2006 vowed to challenge Barbour if no other Democrat entered the race.
Philadelphia attorney Terry Jordan, a former state Tax Commission member and three-term state senator, went public with his promise to oppose Barbour.
No word yet on whether Renick's entry into the campaign will keep Jordan on the sidelines. Jordan, Musgrove and Renick were all freshman state senators together in 1988.
If Barbour is the face of the modern Republican Party in America, Renick is a reliable "yellow dog" Democrat. Whether sacrificial lamb or Barbour saboteur, Renick will at least make the speeches interesting and the debate lively.
