Cochran’s prolonged illness causes speculation of 2008-type scenario
JACKSON – U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, who has been dealing with urological issues for about a month, stresses that he will resume his duties in the nation’s Capitol, but should he opt not to, Mississippi voters would find themselves in a near identical position to where they were in 2008.
Late in 2007, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott unexpectedly stepped down in the second year of his six year term. This allowed then-Gov. Haley Barbour to appoint Roger Wicker, a U.S. House member from Tupelo, to fill the vacant post in the interm until a special election that the governor set for November.
In the November general election, Mississippi voters had the rare opportunity to vote for both of their U.S. senators. Senators normally serve six year staggered terms. But in 2008, Mississippians re-elected Cochran for a full six-year term and elected Wicker to serve out Lott’s term.
Daily Journal
10/16/17
Magnolia Tribune
