BruinKid’s Senate race rankings
13. Mississippi-B: Roger Wicker (R), appointed by governor Haley Barbour (R) on New Year’s Eve after Trent Lott (R) resigned to become a lobbyist, won’t have all the incumbency power Lott had accumulated over the years. Wicker was the Congressman from MS-01, so he’s won elected office previously. But that seat then went blue when Travis Childers (D) won it two weeks ago. So things are changing even in Mississippi. That has to be a shot in a arm for former Governor Ronnie Musgrove (D). However, Wicker has shown himself to be a prolific fundraiser, bringing in over $2.5 million in Q1 alone, amassing a warchest at the end of Q1 of over $2 million more than the one Musgrove had. Granted, Musgrove didn’t have the full three months to fundraise, but until we see the Q2 numbers sometime in July, those numbers don’t look so good. But what does look good are the latest polls. An internal DSCC poll showed a shocking result: Musgrove was up by 8 over Wicker, 48%-40%! Marc Ambinder explains why the poll can’t be that far off. Then Research 2000 released a poll showing Wicker down by four, 46%-42%. But here’s the catch; Markos had them cite the partisan identification. But because this is technically a special election (to fill out the remainder of Lott’s term), there will be no party identification on the ballot in November, which is consistent with how the DSCC’s internal poll asked the question. That can actually work to our benefit in a state like Mississippi. As a result, Wicker has already gone up with a TV ad introducing himself to voters.
Swing State Project
5/28/8
Magnolia Tribune
