United States Senate elections in Mississippi, 2008
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The U.S. state of Mississippi will hold elections for both of its United States Senate seats on November 4, 2008. While states typically elect no more than one Senator in a given year, this circumstance arose from the December 2007 resignation of Class I Senator Trent Lott. The Class II seat held by Thad Cochran is also up for election.
The remainder of Lott's term will be served by the winner of a non-partisan special election that will be held on the same day as the general election. Republican Congressman Roger Wicker was appointed to fill the seat until the election. Wicker and Democrat Ronnie Musgrove will be among those on the November ballot. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will face each other in a runoff election that will determine the winner.
The scheduling of the special election was challenged in court. The state's attorney general argued that the election should be held in March 2008, and a circuit court judge agreed; however, the decision was overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court.
The regularly scheduled election is for the seat currently held by Cochran. Cochran, the state's senior senator, is running for re-election. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary. In the November general election, he will face Erik R. Fleming, who defeated Shawn O'Hare in the Democratic primary with 66% of the vote.
Lott's retirement, in combination with the departure of three members of the U.S. House, may result in a reduction in the state's clout in the United States Congress.[1]
A similar pair of elections for both U.S. Senate seats will occur in 2008 in Wyoming.
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[edit] Election for Class II senate seat
Thad Cochran is running for reelection for the Class II senate seat he presently occupies, and was unopposed within the Republican party.[2] Erik Fleming won the Democratic nomination in the March 11, 2008 primary, winning 65.8% of the vote to opponent Shawn O'Hara's 34.2%.[3]
The general election to fill this office will take place on November 4, 2008, with Cochran and Fleming on the ballot.
[edit] Candidates (Class II senate seat)
[edit] Republican
- Thad Cochran (incumbent)
[edit] Democratic
- Erik Fleming
- Defeated in primary:
- Shawn O'Hara
[edit] Election Results
| 2008 Mississippi U.S. Senator general election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Thad Cochran | ||||
| Democratic | Erik Fleming | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
[edit] Special election for Class I senate seat
On December 18, 2007, U.S. Senator Trent Lott resigned his Class I senate seat in his fourth term to pursue "something else" in the private sector.[4][5] He went on to start a lobbying firm with former U.S. Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, converting his campaign reelection fund to a Political Action Committee.[6]
On December 31, 2007, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour appointed Roger Wicker to the seat vacated 13 days earlier by Sen. Trent Lott. Wicker then began his senate campaign.[7]
Early speculation suggested that Ronnie Musgrove, Mike Espy, Harvey Johnson, Jr., Ray Mabus, and Mike Moore may run for the Democrats[8][9], however only former governor Musgrove of the five decided to run. Another Democrat, former congressman Ronnie Shows also decided to run,[10] but withdrew on February 19, 2008 after determining that he could not raise enough funds to effectively campaign against Wicker and Musgrove. Shows gave his endorsement to Musgrove.[11]
[edit] Election date controversy
There was a dispute about the date on which the special election should occur and whether the governor appointed the interim senator in keeping with state law.
Mississippi law states that Gov. Barbour had 10 days after receiving official notification of the vacancy to appoint an interim senator pending a special election. Barbour appointed Wicker on December 31, 2007, 13 days after Lott's resignation.[12][13][14]
The state Democratic party objected to the timing of the special election. Barbour set the special election for November 4, 2008.[15] Democrats claimed that he had 10 days to set a special election within 90 days (no later than March 29, 2008), and the issue went to court for resolution.
Mississippi Attorney General, Democrat Jim Hood, issued a non-binding opinion that the election must be held within 100 days of Lott's resignation.[16] Hood said that Barbour would be breaking the law if he holds the special election in November 2008. Hood sued Barbour in court over the issue.[17] Hood wanted the date of the special election to be March 11, the same day as Mississippi's presidential primary.[18]
The state’s chief elections officer, the then-Mississippi Secretary of State, Democrat Eric Clark, backed the governor's position.[19]
Governor Barbour claimed that the definition of "year" in the law in question is 365 days. Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Bobby DeLaughter ruled that the election must take place no later than March 19.[20] On 2008-02-06, after Barbour appealed,[21] the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed Judge Delaughter and ruled that the non-partisan special election may be held on November 4.[22]
[edit] Candidates (special election for Class I senate seat)
In the nonpartisan special election for the Class I senate seat, candidates will be listed on the ballot without their party affiliation.[23]
- Roger Wicker (Republican incumbent)
- Ronnie Musgrove (Democrat)
Withdrawn:
- Ronnie Shows (Democrat, endorsed Musgrove)
[edit] Polling
| Source | Date | Wicker (R) | Musgrove (D) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports | May 27, 2008 | 46% | 47% |
| DSCC | May 15-18, 2008 | 40% | 48% |
| Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research | December 22, 2007 | 34% | 48% |
[edit] Election Results
| 2008 Mississippi Special Election U.S. Senator general election | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Roger Wicker | ||||
| Democratic | Ronnie Musgrove | ||||
| Turnout | |||||
[edit] See also
- United States Senate elections, 2008
- Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election, 2008, an election to fill Roger Wicker's former U.S. House of Representatives seat.
- Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2007
[edit] References
- ^ Radelat, Ana. "Retirements diminish state's standing in Congress", Clarion-Ledger, May 14, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- ^ "Editorial", Clarion-Ledger, March 9, 2008.
- ^ Election results from the Mississippi Secretary of State
- ^ Nossiter, Adam and Herszenhorn, David M.. "Mississippi’s Lott to Leave Senate Seat", The New York Times, November 26, 2007.
- ^ Kapochunas, Rachel. "Lott Officially Resigns, All Eyes Now on Barbour", Congressional Quarterly, December 19, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
- ^ Radelat, Ana. "Lott intends to keep clout on Capitol Hill", Hattiesburg American, April 18, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
- ^ Wicker launches Senate campaign | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
- ^ "Wicker Launches Senate Campaign", The Clarion-Ledger, Jan 1, 2008
- ^ Democrat Finally Jumps into Mississippi Senate Race Yahoo! News Jan 7, 2008
- ^ Associated Press via The Hattiesburg American, January 5, 2008
- ^ Shows out of Senate race for Lott's seat | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
- ^ Bloomberg: Wicker Named to Replace Mississippi's Lott in Senate
- ^ Hattiesburg American: Barbour to name leader to fill Lott's seat
- ^ Rupp, Leah. "Senate pick to be unveiled today", Clarion-Ledger, December 31, 2007.
- ^ Hattiesburg American: Barbour to name leader to fill Lott's seat
- ^ FOX News: Trent Lott Resigns From U.S. Senate After Nearly Two Decades of Service
- ^ WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Hood Files Suit to Have Special Election Earlier
- ^ WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: AG Challenges Timing of Senate Election
- ^ The ClarionLedger: AG opinion backs Democrats on timing of election
- ^ Judge: AG right in election date spat | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
- ^ WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Barbour's Attorney Appeals Special-Elex Ruling
- ^ djournal.com
- ^ See the official sample ballot from the May 2008 special election for Congress.
[edit] External links
- Wicker vs Musgrove graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
- Official campaign websites
- The Real Roger Wicker site critical of Wicker by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
- Musgrove Facts site critical of Musgrove by the National Republican Senatorial Committee
