Kos on The Hill: "Magnolia growing blue"

Markos Moulitsas, the man behind the largest progressive blog on the web (Daily Kos) was invited to write a column for The Hill, a website that intensely covers Washington politics. Much to my amazement the Kos article dealt with a very familiar topic, Mississippi. Here is an excerpt of what Markos had to say.

But things may be changing in the Magnolia State. Lott heeded the call of K Street and abandoned his constituents mid-term. His appointed replacement, Roger Wicker, now faces a tough special-election battle against the resurrected Musgrove. A nonpartisan Research 2000 poll conducted for Daily Kos in mid-May found Wicker with a narrow 46-42 lead, while a Rasmussen poll in late May gave Musgrove a razor-thin 47-46 lead. Both poll results were within the margin of error, indicating a tied race. And because of a quirk in Mississippi law, party identification won’t be listed in the special-election battle. People won’t be reminded at the ballot box that Musgrove is a Democrat.

Additionally, those numbers assume traditional turnout patterns, which Barack Obama threatens to upend in dramatic fashion. Mississippi boasts the largest black population in the United States — 37.1 percent of the state, according to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau calculations. With Obama expected to spur record turnout from that demographic this November, the energized black vote alone may very well make the state competitive.