Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) — Mississippi Representative Roger
Wicker was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Republican
Trent Lott, who retired Dec. 18.
Republican Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour announced his
decision to name Wicker at a press conference in Jackson. Wicker,
56, a Republican and former congressional aide to Lott, is
serving his seventh term representing northeast Mississippis 1st
District.
“I am a mainstream conservative, Wicker said in a
statement. “I believe the vast majority of Mississippians share
this philosophy.
Wicker said he would work on economic development and job
creation efforts while continuing to focus on the recovery from
Hurricane Katrina.
Lott announced on Nov. 26 that he was stepping down to spend
more time with his family and “to do something else.
Barbour set Nov. 4, 2008, for a special election to fill the
remaining four years of Lotts term.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, has said
that Barbour has an obligation under state law to hold an
election to replace Lott within 100 days.
Democratic Candidates
Mississippi Democrats said they would field strong
candidates for Lotts former Senate seat and Wickers House seat.
Democrats are also waiting to see if Hood will take legal
action to force an earlier election, state Democratic Party
spokesman Terry Cassreino said today. “What happens next is up
to Attorney General Hood, Cassreino said.
Wicker served as an aide to Lott in 1980. In 1987 Wicker
began two terms in the state Senate, and he won election to his
U.S. House seat in 1994.
Lott served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973
until he entered the Senate in 1989. He served as the Republican
majority leader from 1996 to 2002. Last year, Lott returned to a
leadership role as the No. 2 Senate Republican.
Lott is considering joining a lobbying group started by
former Senate colleague John Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat,
according to his son Chester Lott, who heads a Lexington,
Kentucky-based lobbying firm, Lott and Associates.
Lott said his decision to retire wasnt heavily influenced
by lobbying restrictions that will go into effect Jan. 1.
Legislation signed into law by Bush earlier this year would
double to two years the waiting period before U.S. senators can
lobby their former colleagues. The provision would cover senators
who were in office after Dec. 31.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Christopher Stern in Washington at
