Former Democratic Congressman Ronnie Shows has dropped his campaign for Trent Lott's US Senate seat. Shows' decision clears the field for former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to challenge Barbour's appointee, Roger Wicker. Shows immediately moved to support Musgrove:
Ronnie Musgrove has a long history of working with all Mississippians to bring about change and I believe he is now our best hope to be the independent voice this state needs in Washington. I look forward in the coming months to helping Governor Musgrove win this election so Mississippi will have a Senator who will work to end the partisan bickering that prevents Washington from getting anything done.
Sorry, Ronnie Shows, we hardly knew yee. But I think this is good news. Kos likes to claim that contested primaries are good, because the winner emerges battle-tested and with higher name recognition, among other factors, but those two don’t much apply here. As a battle-tested and well-known former Governor, Musgrove starts out better known than the temporary incumbent. Clearing the field should make it much easier for Musgrove to raise and hoard funds for the general election. He should not dare to coast along until the fall, but keep working on his ground organization and retail campaigning while his opponent is answering quorum calls in D.C.