2 Senate seats up in

artappraiser — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 08:48:02 +0000

In reply to How Things Could Go Wrong For Republicans In Mississippi’s New Senate Race

2 Senate seats up in Mississippi as GOP defends its majority

By Emily Wagner Pettus @ A.P., March 6

[....] Republican Sen. Roger Wicker is already up for re-election in the deeply conservative state. And 80-year-old Republican Sen. Thad Cochran announced Monday that he is resigning April 1 because of poor health.

Cochran is just over halfway through a six-year term. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant will appoint someone to temporarily succeed Cochran, and a special election will be in November — the same day as the regular election for the seat Wicker now holds. The winner of the special election will serve until January 2021.

Democrats are running for the Wicker seat, and the open seat is expected to attract several candidates from both parties. Democrat Mike Espy, President Bill Clinton’s first agriculture secretary, says he has a “strong intention” to run. In 1986 he became the first African-American in modern times to win a congressional seat in Mississippi.

Cochran’s departure set off a scramble within a state Republican Party already struggling to manage a disaffected conservative faction. Chris McDaniel, the outspoken, tea party-backed state senator who came close to defeating Cochran in a bitter 2014 Republican primary, qualified last week to challenge Wicker but said he might jump to the special election if the Cochran seat is open. McDaniel said Monday it is “premature” to say what he will do.

Republicans in Washington are hoping to prevent a rough and costly primary season as they struggle to defend their 51-49 hold on the Senate. Some Republicans have doubts about McDaniel’s ability to win a general election. And after Republicans’ bruising loss in Alabama last year, party leaders are eager to block any risky candidates [.....]

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2 Senate seats up in