MS: Another Open Seat For The GOP
By BrettK Posted in 2008 | Mississippi — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The appointment of Roger Wicker to Trent Lott's Senate seat did not surprise too many people, but it does set up an open seat in the First district. The governor does not appoint a replacement. He must call a special election within 60 days of the vacancy and it must be held at least 40 days after that. So, the election to fill the remainder of Wicker’s term will most likely take place on March 11 to go along with the primaries. The winner will then have to run again in November for the full two-year term.
What this will mean is that there will be three open GOP seats in the Mississippi delegation. Third District Rep. Chip Pickering is not running for re-election, but his seat is considered safe in the GOP’s hands. As far as the Senate goes, I wouldn’t imagine any Republicans besides Wicker will run (their is no primary). So it looks like it will be Wicker vs. former Governor Ronnie Musgrove and any other Dems who may run. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have more than one candidate considering their lack of organization these days and the moderate/ liberal split in the party. It’s necessary for Wicker to begin campaigning today. He has very little name recognition outside of his district while Musgrove has run three statewide campaigns (and won two of them). Wicker’s website has aldready gone live and can be found here. Consider making a contribution to keep this seat securly in the GOP column.
And then there is the first district. The top candidates on the Republican side appear to be Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, former Tupelo Mayor Glenn McCullough, Jr. and Tupelo State Senator Alan Nunnelee to name a few. On the Democratic side, you have Jamie Franks, a former State Rep. who lost the Lieutenant Governor’s race this year and State Rep. Steve Holland has also expressed interest. The latest candidates can qualify is 20 days prior to the election.
Here is some information on the first district: The district voted 62 percent for Bush in 2004 and 59 percent for Bush in 2000. Wicker’s vote has ranged from a low of 66 percent to a high of 78 percent over the last three terms. It is 71 percent white and 26 percent black.
I will say there is a strong Blue Dog tint to this district and most of the state legislators from this area are in fact Democrats. Of course, running for a state seat is a lot different than wanting to be sent to Washington to sit with Nancy Pelosi.