The Hattiesburg American Editorial, 7/10/8
The fact that the current race between Republican interim U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Democratic former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove for the seat vacated by former Republican U.S. Sen. Trent Lott in December is tight as a tick is at once novel and historic.
It’s historic in that there have only been three open U.S. Senate seats from Mississippi since 1947 – the race to succeed Democratic U.S. Sen. James Oliver “Big Jim” Eastland of Doddsville in 1978, the race to succeed Democratic U.S. Sen. John Cornelius Stennis of DeKalb in 1988 and this current race to succeed Lott between Musgrove and Wicker.
It’s novel in that whether caused by Republican dominance or Democratic disorganization, neither of the prior two open Senate seat races have been particularly competitive. The Musgrove-Wicker matchup is, by contrast, extremely competitive.
Magnolia Tribune
