MS-01 Special Election Results - The Shape of Things to Come

On Tuesday, Travis Childers (D) defeated Greg Davis (R) in the special election run-off for the House seat vacated by Roger Wickers (R). The Democrats are now 3-0 in recent special elections for seats traditionally considered safe Republican seats - MS-01, LA-06, IL-14. In fact, the Illinois 14th district was Speaker of the House Denny Hastert's seat. These three defeats can only be considered stunning upsets to the party, and a very dark foreshadowing of November.




In December, Wickers was appointed to the Senate seat that Trent Lott abdicated in December. In January, the lobbying rules changed - former legislators now cannot become lobbyists for two years rather than one - I wonder if THAT had anything to do with Lott leaving the Senate prior to completing his term, but that's a whole other story!

The real story from Tuesday night is NOT Hillary's huge win in West Virginia. It is the stunning MS-01 victory of Childers. Former congressman Wickers has held this seat since the 'Republican Revolution' of 1994. In fact, over the past four election cycles, Wickers has won his seat by no less than 30%. This has been clearly considered a safe seat for the Republicans. Not anymore. And the Democrats should consider a huge number of Republican seats targets.