JACKSON — U.S. Sen. Trent Lott's announcement Monday of his intention to resign next month signals the political equivalent of an earthquake in Mississippi politics.
Lott knew that.
Shortly after the first of two news conferences in Pascagoula and Jackson, Lott said he purposefully kept his decision quiet.
“I kept my counsel,” he said.
Asked if U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran knew of his decision prior to the senior senator making his Nov. 14 announcement to seek another term, Lott said, “He knew where I was leaning.”
Just why Lott stepped down is a matter of conjecture at this point. On face value, Lott said it was time for him to retire and that he wanted to do other things. He said that he would have stepped down at the end of his last term has it not been for Hurricane Katrina and the need for federal money to aid in the recovery.
Why does a change in Mississippi's U.S. Senate representation send such ripples across the state's political pond?
Mississippians simply don't change U.S. senators often. For the better part of the last century, only death or retirement has brought about such change.
Only four men — the late James “Big Jim” Eastland, the late John Stennis, Cochran and Lott — have held Mississippi's U.S. Senate seats for the last 60 years.
Eastland's path to the Senate began with the death of U.S. Sen. Pat Harrison during World War II. The death of U.S. Sen. Theodore Bilbo presented Stennis the opportunity to hold the office just after that same war.
Eastland served for 35 years. Stennis served for 41 years. Cochran has served for 29 years and just announced his intention to seek another six-year term.
Rising to the office when an aged Stennis stepped down in 1989, Lott served 19 years of his 35-year career in the Senate after being elected to the House of Representatives in 1972.
Secretary of State Eric Clark said Monday that within 10 days after Lott formally resigns, Gov. Haley Barbour will appoint someone to serve until a winner is declared in the Nov. 4, 2008, special election.
The law calls for no party primaries but an open-primary, majority-winner election.
If no candidate takes a majority, a runoff will be scheduled between the top two candidates three weeks later.
Democrats may challenge Barbour over the special election procedure and timing.
Barbour is expected to appoint a Republican who will be a candidate for a full term - with U.S. Reps. Chip Pickering of Flora and Roger Wicker of Tupelo among the early leading contenders.
For the Democrats, the cards are in the hands of former Attorney General Mike Moore, who many observers believe would be the leading contender from either party should he decide to run.
Other possible Democratic contenders include former Govs. Ray Mabus and Ronnie Musgrove.
While Barbour's handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster will be his legacy, the decision he makes regarding the Senate vacancy from Lott's resignation also will loom large in state history books.
