Mississippi (5/25/06)

If you look back at the weekly rankings from 5/22, you will see that Thad Cochran is, in my opinion, the least likely senator to lose his or her seat. Well that still holds true today. If you needed proof, you can just look at the 2002 race where Cochran's only opposition in the general election was Shawn O'Hara of the Reform Party. Cochran will be unopposed in the GOP's primaries in 2008. The pretty weak state Democratic paty won't have many good candidates to pick from, but they could pull out their equivalent of a "big gun" and get 9-term Congressman Gene Taylor to run. That, however, is unlikely so they will have to turn to someone like state Attorney General Jim Hood. But no matter who they nominate, the Democrats don't really have much of a prayer in this election.

Potential GOP Candidates: Senator Thad Cochran (http://cochran.senate.gov/)

Potential Dem Candidates: Attorney General Jim Hood (http://www.ago.state.ms.us/)
Congressman Gene Taylor (http://www.house.gov/genetaylor/)

Current Rating: Safe GOP