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MENDENHALL, Miss. — The Country Fisherman restaurant couldn’t be more un-Washington; it’s rural, it’s down-home, and it’s in Mississippi.
But exactly one week before Election Day, the catfish lunch buffet here was ground zero for the biggest question of the 2008 congressional election: whether Democrats will reach 60 seats in the Senate.
Mississippi is as close to a pivotal state as Democrats have in their quest for the so-called filibuster-proof majority, and it is the only toss-up race in which Democrats have not been tied or leading in polls in the last few months.
Challenger and former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) shook hands at the buffet-style eatery a half-hour southeast of Jackson. He made small talk with the locals and won over a self-described hard-right Republican, who unfortunately for him was from Alabama.
While Musgrove glad-handed, Sen. Roger Wicker (R) was making his closing argument for a first full term in the Senate — an argument that relies almost completely on the premise of Musgrove handing more liberal elements of the Democratic Party carte blanche in running the country.
In a trio of stops up I-55 in northern Mississippi on Monday, Wicker, who was appointed to the seat after GOP Sen. Trent Lott resigned, talked about little else, except for Election Day logistics.
Gone are the days in the state legislature when Wicker and Musgrove called each other friend and roommate. Wicker is now warning that the former governor will be bad, not only for his home state, but more so for the country as a whole.
“That’s what this race has become about,” Wicker told a crowd of about 50 in front of his headquarters in Southaven, a suburb of Memphis, Tenn.
Musgrove says that’s not the case. Asked twice here about the prospect of a 60-seat Democratic majority, Musgrove dodged the question both times and spoke in generalities about Washington accomplishing more.
“That’s not my closing argument,” Musgrove said with a laugh.
Asked if 60 seats would be good for the country, Musgrove deflected, saying “passing good policies” would be good from the country.
It’s not surprising for Musgrove to be distancing himself from his national party and the prospect of 60 seats, but it’s clear that party is playing a key role in his prospects and hoping he can help it get there.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spent nearly $6 million on the race as of late last week.
Democrats have led in the polling for eight GOP-held Senate seats in recent months, and they need nine to get to 60. They have frequently been within the margin of error in Mississippi, but the race has been static.
When a poll showed the incumbent up by double digits this week, even Wicker said he didn’t believe it.
While Wicker has run a campaign ad listing all the liberal groups that are on the DSCC’s donor list, Musgrove proudly calls himself a “Mississippi Democrat” and emphasizes his anti-abortion rights and pro-gun credentials.
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