MS-Sen: Cochran to Run Again

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday November 14, 2007 · 11:13 AM PST

2007/11/14 · 11:13

Recently, there had been a lot of speculation that Republican Thad Cochran, the nearly septuagenarian senior senator from Mississippi, might retire. Sadly, it's not to be:

Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., punctured the building suspense over whether he would re-up for another Senate term Wednesday by issuing a short press release assuring voters that he would run again.

"I have decided to seek reelection to the United States Senate," said Cochran.

Despite Mississippi's deep red hue, an open seat here would have presented an intriguing opportunity for former Democratic state AG Mike Moore, an incredibly popular figure. (He may be best-known for launching a major lawsuit to recover healthcare costs from tobacco companies.) But it's doubtful that Moore would run against Cochran, an MS institution, meaning this seat will likely remain safely in Republican hands.

However, the conventional wisdom is that Moore wants to return to politics someday. The next gubernatorial and senate races in the Magnolia State won't be until 2011 and 2012, so Moore's plans bear watching.

P.S. Don't feel too bad about this news. As a colleague reminds me, last year, we re-took the Senate despite only a single GOP retirement (Frist), and we lost that race anyway. This cycle, GOP Senators (and Congressmembers) have been dropping like flies. We already have open seats with top-tier challengers in swing states CO, VA & NM, as well as NE, where we have an intriguing potential candidate as well. (And who knows what Larry Craig will really do.) The Republicans dodged a bullet on this race, but they've already been thoroughly strafed.

MS-Sen: Cochran to Run Again

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