Tonight's Undercard

All the national attention is on the Pennsylvania presidential primary tonight, but the big Congressional battleground will be taking place in Mississippi, where Democrats are hoping that they can come one step closer to winning a seat in the heart of the heavily-Republican Deep South.

In the special election in Mississippi's First District, Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers (D) will be facing Southaven mayor Greg Davis (R). The winner will be succeeding Republican Roger Wicker, who was appointed to fill Trent Lott's Senate seat in January.

Making things more interesting is the fact that they are running on a non-partisan ballot. And the two losing candidates in the primary, who have not campaigned in the special election, are also on the ballot.

Neither candidate is likely to win the 50 percent necessary to avoid a runoff, which is scheduled for May 13. But tonight's results will offer a preview for whether Democrats can, in fact, compete in a ruby-red district that gave 62 percent of the vote to President Bush in 2004.

The National Republican Congressional Committee appears to believe the race is competitive. It has spent over $292,000 on ads in a race that wasn't even on anyone's radar screen upon Wicker's appointment to the Senate. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has also poured over $142,000 into the race.

The Childers campaign conducted an internal poll last week showing the race as neck-and-neck. Since then, the NRCC went on an advertising blitz accusing Childers of failing to implement policies to prevent the mistreatment and neglect of seniors at the nursing home.
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