The rules for MS special elections

Here's the deal:

If Lott resigns this year, the governor would appoint a replacement and call special elections within 90 days.

If Lott resigns next year, the governor's appointee would serve until the 2003 general election (in November).

Either way, we would have a Senate election in Mississippi next year. But -- and this is an important "but" -- a Democrat would likely fill the sit in the interim deadlocking the Senate 50-50.

Now, most people tend to believe that the GOP would easily win that Senate seat back. That's not necessarily true.

At the local level, MS is a heavily Democratic state. There are 33 Republicans in MS's 122-member House and 19 Republicans in the 52-member Senate. And the guv is a Dem. The state GOP has high hopes of making inroads in its 2003 general election, but fact is that MS is competitive.

Of course MS Democrats are to the right of MA Republicans, like a whole seperate species of Democrat, but whatever. An open Senate race, with a large, motivated African American community, would give Democrats a solid opportunity to hold the seat.

And think how much more interesting 2003 will be! Yeah, we'll have the primary campaigns in full swing, and guv races in KY, MS, and LA. But a Senate race? It's more than a political junkie like me could ever hope for!

Posted December 16, 2002 07:17 PM | Comments (62)