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Mississippi Senate Race: Pickering or Wicker vs. Moore?

November 30, 2007 — The latest word out of the Magnolia State is that Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is likely to pick either US Rep. Chip Pickering (R) or US Rep. Roger Wicker (R) to succeed Minority Whip Trent Lott (R) as the next US Senator from Mississippi. On the Democratic side, the scuttlebutt is that former Attorney General Mike Moore, probably the most electable politico among the state’s beleaguered Democrats, has decided that he will run, setting up what is likely to be a fierce, well-funded competition that is sure to receive national attention. 

Whether Barbour will choose Pickering or Wicker is still not known, but the governor is a pragmatic politician. “The only criteria for the appointment is the person who can beat Mike Moore,” says a Jackson insider. In this regard, both Pickering and Wicker have plusses and minuses. 

Pickering 

Pickering is well known across the state, both by virtue of his high profile as a six-term congressman in a district that cuts a wide diagonal across the center of the state, and as the son of Judge Charles Pickering, who is also a former state Republican chairman, well-liked by state and local party officials across the state. Moreover, Chip Pickering won points defending his father’s nomination for a federal appeals court judgeship against the opposition of US Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) and other liberals. (The senior Pickering, already a district judge, was not confirmed by the Senate, but President Bush gave him a recess appointment to the appellate bench, which he held for a few months.) Finally, Pickering has the kind of resume -- including service as a Baptist missionary in Eastern Europe -- that has a lot of appeal here. 

On the negative side, Pickering recently announced that he would not seek re-election to Congress because he wanted to spend more time with his family. Even though Pickering indicated he was not ruling out a return to politics in the future, to turn right around after only a few months and undertake the time-consuming responsibilities of a statewide campaign raises questions about his sincerity. Some have even raised the question of whether Pickering would accept the Senate appointment. “I don’t think there’s any doubt he’d take it if it’s offered,” says the Jackson insider. 

Both congressmen are members of Barbour’s circle, though Pickering is probably closer than Wicker to the governor. When the senior Pickering was state GOP chair, Barbour was his executive director. Barbour’s nephew, political operative Henry Barbour, has managed campaigns for both Barbour and Pickering. And Pickering also has the advantage of the apparent backing of Lott, who publicly mentioned the need for someone in his 40s to take the job. Pickering is 44, Wicker 56. 

Wicker 

Wicker, like Pickering, is a former staff member for Lott. He has one more House term under his belt than Pickering, not very significant, but unlike Pickering, he served two terms in the state senate, giving him some personal ties in the state’s political establishment. In addition, his 1^st District is in North Mississippi, and includes the hill country, not so long ago a Democratic stronghold. Were Wicker the nominee, it might blunt Moore’s efforts to reconnect with these ex-Democrats. Like Pickering, Wicker has strong ties with the governor; Jim Perry, Barbour’s policy advisor, previously served as legislative director for Wicker. And Wicker also comes from a political family: His father was in the state senate. Moreover, Wicker is a high ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee and is the ranking GOPer on the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. This gives him some extra muscle for a campaign. On the other hand, one could argue he would serve Mississippi better by staying put and preserving his House seniority.  

Though Barbour is most likely to choose either Pickering or Wicker for the Senate seat, several other names are getting attention, including state Treasurer Tate Reeves, elected in 2003, and Jim Barksdale, a former CEO of Netscape and Barbour’s choice to head his Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. Although many other names are being mentioned, “Once you get past these,” says a Mississippi political insider (R), “you’re thinking out of the box.” 

Moore 

Mississippi may be a strong Republican state -- Barbour just got re-elected 58% to 42% and President Bush won the state 59%-41% in 2004 -- but even the most ardent GOPers begin to quake in their boots at the mention of the name of former Attorney General Mike Moore (D). Moore gained fame in 1998 for winning a multi-million dollar settlement for the state of Mississippi in a ground-breaking lawsuit against the tobacco companies. With part of the funds, he established the “Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi,” which created a network of contacts among public health professionals and others that would be a major boost to him in a campaign. (A Barbour proposal to transfer state funding from Moore’s “Partnership” to state agencies is currently tied up in court.) Moore’s history of helping this economically challenged state -- made worse by Hurricane Katrina -- could allow him to sidestep the polarizing social issues, including those that are race-related, and gain enough white votes, combined with near-solid black support for Democrats, to win the Senate seat.  

Moore’s interest in the Senate seat may -- or may not -- be complicated by the Nov. 28 indictment on federal bribery charges of prominent Mississippi trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs. The brother-in-law of Lott, Scruggs was hired by Moore as attorney general to negotiate the settlement in the tobacco case brought by Mississippi in the late 1990s. Scruggs’ law firm earned some $1.4 billion in the matter. 

In the event Moore decides not to run -- and in 1999, he backed out of the governor’s race -- the names of two former governors are still in the Democratic mix, Ray Mabus and Ronnie Musgrove. But if Moore is in, and he appears to be, they will stay out. Other potential Democratic contenders include three African Americans, state Rep. Erik Fleming, who got 35% against Lott in 2006; former Jackson mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.; and former US Rep. Mike Espy.  

The Election Date 

This scenario of a potential Democratic victory is partly why Democrats and Republicans are digging in their heels over the question of whether the state constitution allows Barbour to call the election for Nov. 4, 2008, as he has done, or whether it should be held within 90 days of Lott’s resignation, as Democratic state Attorney General Jim Hood contends is required by law. If Moore is a candidate, the Democrats have a chance, but they’ll need every break, including holding the election on a different day than the presidential balloting, which usually brings out Republicans in large numbers. Lott could resolve the matter by resigning after Dec. 31, 2007, which would leave Barbour’s election day designation uncontested. If he does, however, he gives up another year of not being able to lobby congress, hardly an economic plus for the lawmaker who is rebuilding his storm-destroyed home on the Gulf Coast.