WWTBAM Bored

Republican Thad Cochran from Mississippi, who had been in poor health, announced his retirement from the Senate, effective later this month. In Mississippi, there will be a special election for the final 2+ years of his term, with a jungle primary, followed by a runoff between the top two finishers, regardless of party, if no one gets 50% of the vote. Mississippi's other Senator, Roger Wicker, is up for re-election this year as well and had been expected to win fairly easy.

Complicating things is the presence of controversial candidate Chris McDaniel, who barely lost the Republican nomination to Cochran in 2014 and has some rather controversial views on a number of subjects. He had already announced he was running against Wicker, but he is expected to run for the open seat instead. McDaniel is exactly the type of Roy Moore candidate who could win the Republican nomination and then engender a backlash in the general election (or, in this case, runoff) that would allow a Democrat to win. Mississippi has an even larger black electorate percentage than does Alabama, so a repeat of the Moore scenario isn't out of the question. Needless to say, a Democratic pickup in Mississippi would make holding the Senate even more difficult for Republicans.

A further update. The special election to replace Cochran will be held November 6, the same date as the general election, with a runoff, if needed, at a later date to be determined. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that control of the Senate may rest on the results of an election similar to the Moore/Jones election in Alabama.

Earlier today, Gov. Phil Bryant named the state's agriculture commissioner, Cindy Hyde-Smith, to fill Cochran's seat when he retires on April 1. Hyde-Smith will become Mississippi's first ever female representative to either chamber of the U.S. Congress, leaving Vermont as the only state never to elect or appoint a woman to Congress.

Pastor Fireball wrote:Earlier today, Gov. Phil Bryant named the state's agriculture commissioner, Cindy Hyde-Smith, to fill Cochran's seat when he retires on April 1. Hyde-Smith will become Mississippi's first ever female representative to either chamber of the U.S. Congress, leaving Vermont as the only state never to elect or appoint a woman to Congress.

It appears that Chris McDaniel will challenge her in the primary in the special election. --Bob