It looks like a court battle over the date for the special election to replace retiring Sen. Trent Lott could very well be in the cards. As we know, Gov. Haley Barbour’s bizarre reading of Mississippi’s electoral law gives him the power to set the special election in November. This would give Barbour’s appointed candidate some crucial time to build up incumbency and make the Democratic candidate run against the headwind of the Presidential election turnout in a very red state.
The Mississippi Democratic Party is fighting the opinion, and they have an ally in a good place: state AG Jim Hood. Hood’s office has just issued an opinion saying that Barbour must set a special election within 100 days of Lott’s retirement (provided he retired before the new year, as planned):
A special election must be held within 100 days after U.S. Trent Lott makes his resignation official, according to a state Attorney General’s opinion issued Monday. […]
Gov. Haley Barbour has scheduled a Nov. 4 special election for voters to decide who would take Lott’s seat permanently. Barbour said he would appoint an interim senator in the meantime.
Secretary of State Eric Clark issued a statement agreeing with Barbour’s course of action, but the Mississippi Democratic Party challenged the election’s timing.
On Monday, assistant Attorney General Reese Partridge issued an opinion that agreed with the party.
The Mississippi Code is “unambiguous,” Partridge wrote. “If the effective date is after the 2007 general election, but before Jan. 1, 2008, the Governor must, within 10 days of receiving notice of the vacancy, issue his proclamation setting the election within 90 days from when the proclamation is issued.”
A personal letter from Attorney General Jim Hood to Barbour attached to the opinion said if no agreement could be reached on the interpretation of the law, a “resolution from the courts” may be the next option.
Good. If Hood can pull this off, the race might become more attractive for some of the state’s Democrats.
Stay tuned.
The special election story had seemed to have disappeared after the SoS had agreed with Barbour. I was afraid the Dems would roll over.
Kudos to AG Hood.