Dubisson objected hotly and argued that the court did not have the authority to require him to spend money. Jesse retorted that he, Dubisson, evidently had plenty of it to spend.
Back and forth they went like two heavyweights in the center of the ring, neither yielding an inch. It was magnificent theater and the reporters scribbled away. When both were on the verge of throwing punches, the chancellor ordered them to their seats and settled the matter. He ruled: “I do not have the power to undo what has been done with these ads. However, I do order both campaigns to immediately cease the promulgation of ads, either in print or on the air, that are not supported by the facts. Failure to follow this order will result in severe fines, perhaps even jail time for contempt of court.”
For Rex Dubisson, the victory was immediate but somewhat hollow. He had no plans for more mailings and attack ads.
For Jesse, victory came the following morning when the front page of the Register ran the priceless quote: “I Find These Ads Repulsive.”
* * *
The campaign’s final days were a whirlwind of stump speeches, barbecues, rallies, and canvassing. Jesse and his volunteers knocked on doors from mid-morning until after dark. He and Keith disagreed sharply over tactics. Keith wanted to take the Connie Burns ad, put in the tagline “I Find These Ads Repulsive,” run several thousand copies at the print shop, and flood the district with them. But Jesse disagreed because he thought the ads had done enough damage already. Reminding the voters of his ties to a rapist would only solidify their belief that he had done something wrong.
Over the last weekend of the campaign, “the money hit the streets,” as they say. Sacks of cash were delivered to black ministers who promised to deliver voters by the busload. Fats Bowman’s ward bosses took more cash and distributed it among their own teams of drivers. Absentee ballots by the hundreds were prepared using the names of those who had died since the last election.
On August 4, Election Day, Jesse, Agnes, and Keith voted early at their precinct in an elementary school. For Keith, a new voter, it was an honor casting a ballot for his father. And it was a pleasure voting against Fats and several other politicians on his payroll. Turnout was heavy in all precincts along the Coast and the Rudys spent the day visiting their poll workers. There were no complaints of harassment or intimidation.
When the polls closed at 6:00 p.m., the arduous task of hand-counting the ballots began. It was almost 10:00 p.m. before the first precinct captains arrived at the courthouse with their tallies and boxes of ballots, all of which were counted for the second time by election clerks. Jesse and his team waited nervously in his conference room as they worked the phones. Stone County, the least populous of the five, reported its final tally at 10:45. Jesse and Dubisson evenly split the vote, an encouraging sign. The excitement waned when Hancock County went 62 percent for Dubisson.
Fats was known to delay the reporting in Harrison until all other votes had been broadcast. Foul play was always suspected but had never been proven. Finally, at 3:30 a.m., Jesse received a call from an election clerk at the courthouse. He had been soundly thumped in the Biloxi precincts, with the exception of the Point, which he carried by 300 votes, but not enough to do any damage to the Bowman machine. Dubisson received almost 18,000 votes, for a 60 percent shellacking.
Overall, throughout the three-county district, Jesse had convinced 12,173 voters that reform was needed. The others, almost 18,000, were content with the status quo.
Not surprisingly, Fats steamrolled his hapless opponent and took almost 80 percent of the vote.
It appeared as though little would change, at least for the next four years.
* * *
For two days Jesse stewed over the loss as he contemplated contesting the election. Almost 1,800 absentee ballots looked suspicious, but there were not enough to change the outcome.
He had been beaten in a dirty fight and had learned some hard lessons. Next time he would be ready for a brawl. Next time he would have more money.