January 02, 2008

Barbour Names Rep. Wicker To Fill Lott's Senate Seat

GOP Rep. Roger Wicker was named Monday by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) to occupy the Senate seat vacated earlier this month by the resignation of former Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott. Wicker, 56, will serve until a special election is held to fill the remainder of Lott's term. Barbour has scheduled that contest for next Nov. 4, but that date is likely to be challenged in court by Democrats who contend that state law requires an earlier vote.

Wicker, first elected to the House in 1994 from what is now a reliably Republican House district in the northern section of the state, has accumulated a strongly conservative voting record during his years on Capitol Hill. His appointment to the Senate also opens up a prized seat on the House Appropriations Committee.

See the full story (subscription) for more details on Wicker's appointment and the partisan wrangling over the special election date. The Almanac of American Politics has a profile of Wicker (subscription).

-Louis Peck, CongressDaily

Posted at 7:54 AM
Posted to: Campaigns, Congress, Senate
Share via