Trent Lott to Resign * Update 2:00 p.m.
** Update - According to Gov. Barbour the election for filling Sen. Trent Lott's seat will be in November of 2008 along with the general election. A close look at MS Code Sec 23-15-855 shows reveals that if the vacancy occurs in 2008 the election should be held with the general election. This being said even if Sen. Lott resigns effectively today Gov. Barbour can call for an election within 10 days but does not have to fill the position until after January 1. As long as the spot is vacant this first day of January (is gets interesting with gaveling in and out but we will go with the 1st) then Barbour is within his rights, I believe, to have the Senate seat election with the general. I also recommend a Washington Post blog which is also following this story for further information.
Big news breaking out of Jackson this morning is that Trent Lott, Senator from Mississippi is resigning at the end of 2007. This is just a year into his 6 year term that he was elected to last November.
The legal part of this is controlled by the 17th amendment, I believe, which states: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Mississippi Code Sec. 23-15-855 states:
(1) If a vacancy shall occur in the office of United States Senator from Mississippi by death, resignation or otherwise, the Governor shall, within ten (10) days after receiving official notice of such vacancy, issue his proclamation for an election to be held in the state to elect a Senator to fill such unexpired term as may remain, provided the unexpired term is more than twelve (12) months and the election shall be held within ninety (90) days from the time the proclamation is issued and the returns of such election shall be certified to the Governor in the manner set out above for regular elections, unless the vacancy shall occur in a year that there shall be held a general state or congressional election, in which event the Governor's proclamation shall designate the general election day as the time for electing a Senator, and the vacancy shall be filled by appointment as hereinafter provided.
(2) In case of a vacancy in the office of United States Senator, the Governor may appoint a Senator to fill such vacancy temporarily, and if the United States Senate be in session at the time the vacancy occurs the Governor shall appoint a Senator within ten (10) days after receiving official notice thereof, and the Senator so appointed shall serve until his successor is elected and commissioned as provided for in subsection (1) of this section, provided that such unexpired term as he may be appointed to fill shall be for a longer time than one (1) year, but if for a shorter time than one (1) year he shall serve for the full time of the unexpired term and no special election shall be called by the Governor but his successor shall be elected at the regular election.
These means that Governor Barbour will appoint someone to fill the seat in the interim and since 2008 is a general election year the spot will be elected at that point in time. This assumes Sen. Lott doesn't retire before the end of 2007. If Sen. Lott does retire before the end of the year I think we go with the 100 days election cycle of 10 days of notice and 90 days until election and Governor Barbour's appointee has a shorter term (assuming he is not the elected candidate).
To somewhat cloudy the waters Sec. 23-15-853 was amended this past year to have a different time frame and process and mentions members of Congress which I believe implies House of Representatives but I have to dig deeper to find out what exactly member Congress is in the MS Code to make sure it doesn't include Senators. - 2:00 Update It appears that Governor Barbour says only 23-15-855 matters, and that does make sense since 855 specifically talks about the Senate but the language is slightly confusing.
On to the possible candidates for the office, please feel free to chime in with your recommendations:
- Chip Pickering (R) - US House of Representatives, Miss Dist. 3
- Roger Wicker (R) - US House of Representatives, Miss Dist. 1
- Mike Moore (D) - Former MS Attorney General who has long been rumored to be seeking a Senate seat
- Amy Tuck (R) - former MS Lt. Governor (term-limited out this past election), originally a Democrat who turned Republican before her second term
- Charlie Ross (R) - former state Senator, lost in the GOP Lt. Governor's Primary this past year but is a favorite of Governor Barbour
- Ronnie Musgrove (D) - former Mississippi Governor, lost to Haley Barbour in 2003
- Mike Espy (D) - former member of the House of Representatives and former Secretary of Agriculture under President Clinton
- Mark Baker (R) - State Representative from Rankin County, dark horse candidate for this role but he has friends in high places within the Republican party, probably not enough name recognition to easily win the seat in November 2008 but an interesting candidate
posted by B.C. Barnes @ 2:07 PM
5 Comments:
Might want to look at Section 23-15-855 of the Mississippi Code.
According to the Clarion Ledger article linked in the main post, Lott will resign before the end of 2007. For purposes of statutory interpretation, the issue will be whether the "vacancy" occurs on the effective date of Lott's resignation.
I don't know exactly when a "vacancy" occurs. Rhetorical questions: Is it when he says his resignation is effective, even if the Senate is not in session on that date? What effect, if any, will Harry Reid's pro forma sessions to prevent recess appointments have on the issue? Is it when the Senate has a roll call and he doesn't answer? Is it when he turns in the key to his office door?
I assume an election this spring would favor the candidate with the most name recognition, because there would be little time for campaigning. Of all the people on your list, I think Pickering and Tuck have the most state-wide name recognition. If Mike Moore runs against either of them, then it should be an exciting race.
Presumably, there will be party primaries before the general election.
Check out this article from The Hill.
According to the article, Barbour interprets the last part of Sec. 23-15-855(1) ("unless the vacancy shall occur in a year that there shall be held a general state or congressional election, in which event the Governor's proclamation shall designate the general election day as the time for electing a Senator, and the vacancy shall be filled by appointment as hereinafter provided") as saying that if the vacancy occurs in a year in which there is a general election, even if we've already had the general election, then Barbour can designate the next general election as the date for permanently filling the vacancy.
Because there was a state-wide election in 2007, Barbour says that he can wait until the November 2008 election.
Break down the last part of Sec. 23-15-855(1) into two parts:
First , "unless the vacancy shall occur in a year that there shall be held a general state or congressional election ..."
Second , "...in which event the Governor's proclamation shall designate the general election day as the time for electing a Senator, and the vacancy shall be filled by appointment as hereinafter provided."
Does "general election day" in the second part refer to the same election as the "general state or congressional election" in the first part? That's the issue to be resolved in Barbour's interpretation.
Example: If, for some reason, Mississippi has a statewide election in November 2009, and Senator Cochran resigns in December of 2009, can Gov. Barbour rely on the fact that there was an earlier statewide election in 2009 as a justification to delay the election of a permanent replacement for Sen. Cochran until the next statewide election in November 2011?
Right after I posted that example, it occurred to me that a better example would be this:
If Sen. Cochran resigns in December 2008, then under Gov. Barbour's interpretation of Sec. 23-15-855(1), the election of his permanent replacement would not be until the November 2011 election.
Under one interpretation, if a senator resigns on Nov. 5, 2008, then the election for a replacement would be Nov. 2010, because that is the next congressional election.
Under the other interpretation, if a senator resigns on Nov. 5, 2008, then the election would be 100 days later.
That assumes extreme facts, though. Under either interpretation, Trent's resignation will result in an election in less than a year.
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