Whats The State Of Play For Lotts Vacant Seat?
So with Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) resigning, what’s the overall state of play for his seat? The bottom line is that a Republican will immediately replace Lott, and the GOP is still favored to hold on to the seat — but Democrats might just have an opening if they can get a good candidate, and they sure have more money to throw around than the GOP does. Mississippi’s Republican Governor Haley Barbour will make an appointment to the seat, and the appointee will stay until a special election in November 2008, coinciding with the presidential race. That alone will favor the GOP, as President Bush won 60% of the vote in Mississippi in 2004, and 57% of the vote in 2000. Thus any potential Democratic nominee would need a lot of ticket-splitting in order have a chance. On the Democratic side, the field of prospective candidates is pretty thin. The GOP won all but a single statewide office in this month’s elections, leaving incumbent state Attorney General Jim Hood as the sole winni
