President Bush’s appearance in Jackson on Tuesday helped Republican Sen. Roger Wicker secure more money in one lunch than his political opponent raised from January through March.
But Joe Parker, a professor of political science at the University of Southern Mississippi, said that $500,000 may not be enough to impact the heated race between Wicker and challenger and Ronnie Musgrove either way.
Wicker already was outpacing Musgrove, a Democrat and former Mississippi governor, in contributions through March – raising about $3.1 million, compared to Musgrove’s $447,000, according to the most recent records available from the Federal Elections Commission.
More than 500 people attended the $1,000-a-ticket luncheon with Bush during his two-hour stop in Jackson, Wicker campaign spokesman Ryan Annison said. The luncheon, held at a home in Jackson’s Eastover subdivision, was closed to the media and the public.