United States Senate special election in Mississippi, 2008

United States Senate special election in Mississippi, 2008
Mississippi
November 4, 2008
 
Nominee Roger Wicker Ronnie Musgrove
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 683,409 560,064
Percentage 54.96% 45.04%

County results
U.S. Senator before election

Roger Wicker
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Roger Wicker
Republican

The 2008 United States Senate special election in Mississippi was held on November 4, 2008. This election was held on the same day of Thad Cochran's re-election bid in the United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2008. The winner of this special election served the rest of the Senate term, which ended in January 2013. Unlike most senate elections, this was a non-partisan election in which the candidate who got a majority of the vote wins, and if the first place candidate did not get 50%, a runoff election with the top two candidates would have been held. In the election, no run off was necessary as Republican nominee and incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker won re-election to finish the term.

Background

On December 18, 2007, U.S. Senator Trent Lott resigned in his fourth-term to pursue "something else" in the private sector.[1][2] He ended up starting his own lobbying firm.

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.[3]

Early speculation suggested that Ronnie Musgrove, Mike Espy, Harvey Johnson, Jr., Ray Mabus, and Mike Moore may run for the Democrats,[4][5] however only former governor Musgrove of the five decided to run. Another Democrat, former congressman Ronnie Shows also decided to run,[6] 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.[7] 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.[8][9][10]

The state Democratic party objected to the timing of the special election. Barbour set the special election for November 4, 2008 .[9] 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.[11] 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.[12] Hood wanted the date of the special election to be March 11, the same day as Mississippi's presidential primary.[13]

The state’s chief elections officer, the then-Mississippi Secretary of State, Democrat Eric Clark, backed the governor's position.[14]

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.[15] On February 6, 2008, after Barbour appealed,[16] the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed Judge Delaughter and ruled that the non-partisan special election may be held on November 4.[17]

Candidates

Democratic

Republican

Polling

Poll Source Dates administered Musgrove Wicker
Rasmussen Reports October 27, 2008 43% 54%
Research2000 for Daily Kos October 14–15, 2008 46% 47%
Rasmussen Reports September 30, 2008 47% 49%
Rasmussen Reports August 23, 2008 42% 47%
Rasmussen Reports July 28, 2008 42% 48%
Research2000 for Daily Kos July 23, 2008 44% 45%
Rasmussen Reports June 26, 2008 47% 48%
Rasmussen Reports May 27, 2008 47% 46%
Research 2000/Daily Kos May 19–21, 2008 42% 46%
Research 2000/Daily Kos December 10–12, 2007 39% 47%

Results

2008 Mississippi U.S. Senator special election[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Roger Wicker 683,409 54.96% -8.6
Democratic Ronnie Musgrove 560,064 45.04% +9.9
Majority 123,345
Turnout 1,243,473
Republican hold Swing

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Nossiter, Adam & Herszenhorn, David M. (November 26, 2007). "Mississippi's Lott to Leave Senate Seat". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Congressional Quarterly, December 19, 2007 Archived 2009-07-21 at WebCite
  3. ↑ Wicker launches Senate campaign | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
  4. 1 2 "Wicker Launches Senate Campaign", The Clarion-Ledger, Jan 1, 2008
  5. ↑ Democrat Finally Jumps into Mississippi Senate Race Yahoo! News Jan 7, 2008
  6. ↑ Associated Press via The Hattiesburg American, January 5, 2008
  7. ↑ Shows out of Senate race for Lott's seat | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
  8. ↑ Bloomberg: Wicker Named to Replace Mississippi's Lott in Senate
  9. 1 2 Hattiesburg American: Barbour to name leader to fill Lott's seat
  10. ↑ http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071231/NEWS/712310319/1001/news Jackson Clarion-Ledger Senate Pick to be Unveiled Today
  11. ↑ FOX News: Trent Lott Resigns From U.S. Senate After Nearly Two Decades of Service
  12. ↑ WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Hood Files Suit to Have Special Election Earlier
  13. ↑ WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: AG Challenges Timing of Senate Election
  14. ↑ The ClarionLedger: AG opinion backs Democrats on timing of election
  15. ↑ Judge: AG right in election date spat | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger
  16. ↑ WLBT 3 - Jackson, MS: Barbour's Attorney Appeals Special-Elex Ruling
  17. ↑ djournal.com
  18. ↑ Former governor Musgrove to run for U.S. Senate
  19. ↑ "US Senate Special Election Official Certification" (PDF). Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved Jan 10, 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.