Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale will wage a legal battle to stay on the Democratic Party primary ballot even though party officials want him out, his office said.

Last month, as Mr. Dale prepared to seek his ninth term in office, the Mississippi Party refused to certify his candidacy on the grounds of party loyalty.

Party spokesman Terry Cassreino said the 80-member committee in a non-unanimous vote decided that Mr. Dale's support of the re-election of President George W. Bush at a county fair near Philadelphia in 2004 disqualified him from gaining the support of the party.

Mr. Dale first won office in 1975 and has been re-elected eight times, often facing primary and general election opponents.

The commissioner obtained an opinion from Attorney General Jim Hood that no party has the right to decertify a candidate on the basis of party loyalty.

But the commissioner will have to go to court to get back on the ballot.

Deputy Commissioner Lee Harrell said he was surprised by the action and did not know the basis of it. "All I know is what I read in the paper," he said.

He said he is confident the courts will back Mr. Hood's opinion.

Four Republicans and three other Democrats have filed as candidates for the insurance commissioner's office. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 6 and the general election Nov. 7.

Mr. Dale has been the target of some criticism for his purported failure to call insurance companies to task for their handling of 2005 Hurricane Katrina claims.

The attorney general and the state's congressional representatives have all taken various legal and legislative actions asserting the insurance companies have evaded their responsibilities.

But that does not appear to have been a factor in the decision, according to Mr. Cassreino, who said party loyalty was the only issue raised by the committee members.

Special Reports /

Miss. Regulator Fights To Stay On Dem Ballot

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