Dale Falls Short of Candidacy for 9th Term as Miss. Insurance Commissioner

In the Mississippi primary elections Tuesday, an eight-term veteran Democratic insurance commissioner running on the Independent ticket was edged out by a Democratic opponent, while the Republican contest was a runaway for a state senator.

Gary Anderson, a former state fiscal officer from Jackson, challenged Dale for the Democratic nomination for insurance commissioner and won by a slight 51 percent to 49 percent margin. Anderson said he and his wife visited several precincts Tuesday.

“We feel like we put forth the effort that was required to win this race. We brought out the issues,” Anderson said.

Dale, who has been severely criticized over unresolved Hurricane Katrina claims and campaign contributions he accepted from insurance representatives, said he spent election day working in his state office. Over the past few weeks, Dale traveled across Mississippi trying to win votes in the Democratic primary.

“I made an effort to tell the voters what I had done in my term in office,” said Dale, who lives in Clinton.

Dale had been criticized by Anderson for accepting campaign contributions from the industry he was elected to regulate.

Dale’s other foe was Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, an Oxford attorney, who contributed $250,000 to a political action committee that opposed Dale’s re-election.

One of the reasons Dale and Scruggs were at odds was that Dale sponsored a mediation program for Hurricane Katrina victims to resolve their claims with insurers without seeking litigation.

Anderson now faces Republican candidate state Sen. Mike Chaney of Vicksburg who prevailed over Ronnie English of Vancleave in a 79 percent to 21 percent victory.

The general election is scheduled for Nov. 6..