NATCHEZ &045; Pumping his fists like a preacher even after a whirlwind day of politicking, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove kicked off his re-election campaign in Natchez Tuesday night &045; and proclaimed Southwest Mississippi &uot;the most important&uot; area of the state.

Local leaders told him &uot;don’t you skip Natchez and Adams County,&uot; Musgrove recalled before a crowd of supporters at Sadie V. Thompson School’s gymnasium.

&uot;There’s not another place that’s more important than Southwest Mississippi right now,&uot; he said. &uot;And we’re going to work hard to help you.&uot;

After his speech, Musgrove said his office has been working with local economic development officials on &uot;several projects&uot; that can’t be named right now.

&uot;We have been down here several times to meet with community leaders and to meet with others in the community to get their ideas,&uot; he said.

&uot;We have focused on bringing high-paying jobs by investing in schools and putting an economic development strategy together,&uot; Musgrove said.

Earlier he emphasized the importance of education to the future of the state.

&uot;To provide greater economic opportunity, Mississippi’s No. 1 priority must be schools,&uot; he said.

Musgrove emphasized passage of a teacher pay package as well as accountability standards.

But in addition to touting his economic development efforts and his record on education, Musgrove &045; who has little primary opposition on Aug. 5 &045; also fired another salvo in what might be a tough race in November between him and Republican candidate Haley Barbour.

&uot;Haley Barbour has been a big-time lobbyist, and now he’s come down here to run for governor by running down Mississippi,&uot; Musgrove said.

&uot;It says a lot about Governor Musgrove’s record that he starts his campaign with negative, personal attacks on Haley Barbour and offers no proposals for Mississippi’s future,&uot; said Quinton Dickerson, spokesman for Barbour’s campaign.

Barbour has said Mississippi’s financial picture is in trouble, but Musgrove disagreed, comparing the state to others in the Southeast that have raised taxes, threatened to cut services or come close to their debt ceiling over the past year.

&uot;We have not raised taxes,&uot; Musgrove said. &uot;We have not depleted our rainy day fund.&uot;

Musgrove also noted the creation of jobs in the state since he became governor, including the 5,000-job Nissan auto plant in Canton.

&uot;I will continue to fight to buck the national trend and bring jobs to Mississippi,&uot; he said.

&uot;Together, we’ve begun to create an economic environment that allows us to give our children a brighter future right here in Mississippi.&uot;