New Senate Rankings

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Very strong R
ID WY AK MS AL SC

Strong R
KS KY TN GA

Mississippi really ought to just be Strong R and not Very Strong R, unless you specifically decided to take into account that Mike Moore apparently has no balls.

[7,052,770]

Likely GOP:
Mississippi

This is essentially an average of Strong GOP (should Cochran run for reelection) and Lean GOP (should Cochran retire and the race be Mike Moore v. Chip Pickering).

[7,052,770]

I guess it's customary to assume Cochran is running again until he says definitely otherwise, and therefore Mississippi must remain Strong R, but I still get grumpy when I see it on lists in that category.

[7,052,770]

I frankly doubt it would be a tossup or even Lean R even if he wasn't running.

It would be Lean R right now in a Pickering vs. Moore race, and would probably move into Tossup as Election Day neared.
You may remember the Robert Novak article in early 2006 that said Trent Lott better not retire because Mike Moore would win the seat if he did, which is most likely why Lott even ran again in '06.

[7,052,770]

Now that Cochran is running for reelection, we can keep MS in Safe R from now on