By By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
August 24, 2003
Roger D. Crowder of Louisville hopes a well-known agriculture snack will help him win the Republican nomination for state commissioner of agriculture on Tuesday.
Crowder has been handing out bags of roasted peanuts to Mississippi voters while campaigning for office across the state.
Crowder, 56, meets Max Phillips, also 56, of Taylorsville, in the Tuesday GOP runoff.
The winner will meet incumbent Democrat Lester Spell and Reform Party candidate Bob Claunch in the Nov. 4 general election. At stake: A job heading the state Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
The commissioner of agriculture earns $90,000 a year.
Crowder has used peanuts in past campaigns; he said people love them.
Crowder, who is black, said he has attracted a lot of attention from national news reporters since switching to the GOP this election cycle.