The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Editorial, 9/2/8
Mississippi rarely changes U.S. senators. Until Trent Lott unexpectedly stepped down late last year, only four men had filled the state’s two Senate seats in the last 61 years.
This year’s race between Republican Roger Wicker, appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to fill Lott’s seat until a special election, and Democratic former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove may well be the most significant contest of this political generation in Mississippi. Whoever wins is likely to hold the seat for many years to come.
The race is highly competitive -unlike the other regular election contest between Sen. Thad Cochran, a Republican seeking his sixth term, and Democrat Erik Fleming of Jackson. Cochran is the heavy favorite in that one.
Yet while the Cochran-Fleming race will be near the top of the Nov. 4 ballot, just below the presidential contest, there’s a chance the Wicker-Musgrove race will be at the bottom below local races. The reason: The latter is a special election, and there’s some ambiguity in the law about where it should fall on the ballot.
Magnolia Tribune
