2008 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election

none February 2026 June 2020 2008 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election Flag of Mississippi (1996–2020).svg by-election Mississippi's 1st congressional district no 2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi#District 1 2006 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi#District 1 November 2008 April 22 and May 13, 2008 File:Travischilders (cropped).jpg 150x150px Travis Childers Democratic Party (United States) 58,037 53.78% File:Greg Davis 2008 campaign headshot (cropped).jpg Greg Davis Republican Party (United States) 49,877 46.22% 2008 MS-01 Special.svg 200px Runoff county resultsChilders: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%Davis: #e27f7f 50–60% #d72f30 70–80% U.S. Representative Roger Wicker Republican Party (United States) Travis Childers Democratic Party (United States) The 2008 Mississippi 1st congressional district special election was a special election in the state of Mississippi to determine who would serve the remainder of former Representative Roger Wicker's term. After an April 22, 2008 ballot resulted in no candidate receiving a majority, Democratic Party candidate Travis Childers defeated Republican candidate Greg Davis in a runoff election on May 13, 2008. Democratic primary Candidates Travis Childers, Prentiss County Clerk Steve Holland, Mississippi State Representative Marshall Coleman Brian H. Neely Ken Hurt, 2006 Democratic nominee for Mississippi's 1st congressional district Results Democratic Primary resultsOfficial Recapitulation of votes cast in the Democratic Party primary held in the State of Mississippi on the 11th day of March, 2008 http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary/DC%20Statewide/2008%20Statewide%20Democratic%20Primary%20Results.pdf Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi https://web.archive.org/web/20080402015624/http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary/DC%20Statewide/2008%20Statewide%20Democratic%20Primary%20Results.pdf April 2, 2008 dead Travis Childers Democratic Party (United States) 40,919 41.41 Steve Holland Democratic Party (United States) 30,274 30.63 Marshall Coleman Democratic Party (United States) 12,913 13.07 Brian Neely Democratic Party (United States) 10,624 10.75 Ken Hurt Democratic Party (United States) 4,095 4.14 98,825 100.00 Runoff Results Democratic primary runoff resultsOfficial Recapitulation of votes cast in the Democratic Party primary run off held in the State of Mississippi on the 1st day of April 2008 http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary%20Run%20Off%2008/Statewide%20Dem%2008%20run%20off/2008%20Statewide%20Democratic%20Primary%20Runoff%20Results.pdf Democratic Party of the State of Mississippi https://web.archive.org/web/20201121143123/http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary%20Run%20Off%2008/Statewide%20Dem%2008%20run%20off/2008%20Statewide%20Democratic%20Primary%20Runoff%20Results.pdf November 21, 2020 dead Travis Childers Democratic Party (United States) 20,797 56.58 Steve Holland Democratic Party (United States) 15,958 43.42 36,755 100.00 Republican primary Candidates Greg Davis, Mayor of Southaven and former Mississippi State Representative Glenn McCullough, former Mayor of Tupelo Randy Russell, ophthalmologist Results Republican primary resultsPresidential Preference Primary Official Results http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary/RP%20Statewide/2008%20StatewideRP.pdf Mississippi Republican Party https://web.archive.org/web/20201121080337/http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary/RP%20Statewide/2008%20StatewideRP.pdf November 21, 2020 dead Glenn McCullough Republican Party (United States) 17,082 38.88 Greg Davis Republican Party (United States) 16,161 36.79 Randy Russell Republican Party (United States) 10,688 24.33 43,931 100.00 Runoff results Republican primary runoff resultsThird U.S. Congressional District Official Results http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary%20Run%20Off%2008/Statewide%20Rep%2008%20run%20off/2008%20Statewide%20Republican%20Primary%20Run-off%20Results.pdf Mississippi Republican Party https://web.archive.org/web/20201121175613/http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/Primary%20Run%20Off%2008/Statewide%20Rep%2008%20run%20off/2008%20Statewide%20Republican%20Primary%20Run-off%20Results.pdf November 21, 2020 dead Greg Davis Republican Party (United States) 16,733 50.82 Glenn McCullough Republican Party (United States) 16,196 49.18 32,929 100.00 General election Candidates Travis Childers, Prentiss County Clerk (D) Greg Davis, Mayor of Southaven and former Mississippi State Representative John M. Wages Jr., former member of the Lee County Election Commission Wally Pang, Batesville restaurant owner Campaign On December 31, 2007, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour appointed Roger Wicker to the Senate seat vacated 13 days earlier by Sen. Trent Lott. At the time of his appointment, Wicker was already a U.S. Representative for Mississippi's District 1. As a result of Wicker's appointment to the Senate, his House seat became vacant, necessitating a special election to determine who would serve the remainder of Wicker's term. Mississippi 1 covers the northeastern part of the state, including the cities of Columbus, Grenada, Oxford, Southaven, and Tupelo. The district had been represented by Republican Roger Wicker since 1995. The district has demonstrated itself to be "reliably conservative" in past elections, with George W. Bush winning the district by 25 points in the 2004 presidential election.A House Race Holds Clues for GOP, Susan Davis, The Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2008. Early speculation had Republicans Greg Davis, Glenn McCullough, and Randy Russell and Democrats Steve Holland and Jamie Franks as contenders.commercialappeal.com Southaven mayor hopes to represent First District in Congress, January 12, 2008 http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jan/12/davis-among-3-in-gop-race/The Clarion-Ledger: "Wicker moves up; who moves in?", January 1, 2008 http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/NEWS01/80101016February 2024 medic All but Franks ended up as candidates. The party primaries were held on March 11. The primary runoff election was held on April 1, 2008.Clarion Ledger: Election '08: Field set for congressional races http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804020360 According to Mississippi state election law, those who voted in the Democratic Primary on March 11 were only allowed to vote in the Democratic runoff on April 1. Mississippi was one of the states where right wing commentators such as Rush Limbaugh suggested people cross party lines on March 11 in order to keep the competition alive between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Several websites such as the Daily Kos<ref> "DailyKos:''' Limbaugh's system-gaming could give us a new Democratic congressman ]</ref> and politico.comKraushaar Josh Primary shenanigans could backfire https://www.politico.com/story/2008/03/primary-shenanigans-could-backfire-009291 POLITICO suggested that this is why the Republican primary runoff was so close between the more moderate McCullough and Davis as many of the more Conservative Republicans were not allowed to vote in that runoff. It is also believed that this has led to the final special election race involving a conservative Democrat (Childers) who has a better than usual chance to win the general election. Republicans were particularly concerned that a race between Childers and McCullough would've increased the Democrat's chances. The initial special election to fill the seat was held on April 22, 2008; no one received a majority of the vote so a runoff election was held between the two top vote getters: Democrat Travis Childers (who was the top vote getter with 49.4% of the vote) and Republican Greg Davis (who received 46.3% of the initial special election vote) on May 13, 2008. The National Republican Congressional Committee spent over $1.3 million in support of Davis' bid for the vacant seat. Freedom's Watch, a Republican-supporting advocacy group, purchased an additional $550,000 in advertising. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $1.5 million in support of Childers. Despite the district's Republican leanings, Childers defeated Davis in the final round of the special election by a 54% to 46% margin.Miss. Democrat wins House seat in special election https://web.archive.org/web/20200904115626/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/STATE_PRIMARIES_RDP?SITE=NHPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT September 4, 2020 , Emily Waggster Pettus, Associated Press, May 13, 2008. Once sworn in, Childers will serve through the end of the 110th Congress in January 2009. Childers victory represents the 3rd time during the 110th Congress that a Democrat has been elected to a previously Republican-held seat in a special election. Childers victory is seen as a surprise upset for the Republican party as Mississippi's 1st district has been historically right leaning. It is believed that this sends "a clear signal of national problems ahead for Republicans in the fall".Nossiter Adam May 14, 2008 Democrat Wins House Seat in Mississippi https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/politics/14mississippi.html NYTimes.com Negative campaign ads approved by Davis tried to link Childers with presidential candidate Barack Obama and his controversial former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright.May 15, 2008 Mississippi election loss is GOP 'wakeup call' - CNN.com CNN http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/14/miss.election/index.html May 12, 2010May 4, 2008 Republicans use Obama as the bad guy in negative ads - CNN.com CNN http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/04/obama.ads/index.html May 12, 2010 Childers and Davis faced off against each other in the November general election.Commercial Dispatch Online http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2008/05/14/state_news/state01.txt https://web.archive.org/web/20110708130241/http://www.cdispatch.com/articles/2008/05/14/state_news/state01.txt July 8, 2011 dead Again, Childers won that contest. Results Mississippi's 1st Congressional District special election, 2008Total Votes Reported by County for the April 22, 2008 Special Election http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/First%20Congressional%20Special%20Election/Congressional%20Election%20PDF/2008%20First%20Congressional%20Special%20Election%20Certification.pdf Mississippi Secretary of State https://web.archive.org/web/20201120131424/http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/First%20Congressional%20Special%20Election/Congressional%20Election%20PDF/2008%20First%20Congressional%20Special%20Election%20Certification.pdf November 20, 2020 dead Democratic Party (United States) Travis Childers 33,304 49.44 Republican Party (United States) Greg Davis 31,177 46.28 Republican Party (United States) Glenn McCullough 968 1.44 Democratic Party (United States) Steve Holland 789 1.17 Independent (politician) Wally Pang 725 1.08 Green Party (United States) John M. Wages, Jr. 398 0.59 67,361 100.00 Runoff results 2008 Mississippi's 1st congressional district special runoff election Democratic Party (United States) Travis Childers 58,037 53.78 Republican Party (United States) Greg Davis 49,877 46.22 107,914 100.00 Democratic Party (United States) Republican Party (United States) By county Countyhttps://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/First%20Congressional%20Special%20Election%20Run%20off/Cong%20Election%20Run%20Off%20PDF/PDF2/08%20RUNN%20OFF%20CERTIFICATE%20OF%20VOTE%20(2).pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20241105152728/https://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2008/First%20Congressional%20Special%20Election%20Run%20off/Cong%20Election%20Run%20Off%20PDF/PDF2/08%20RUNN%20OFF%20CERTIFICATE%20OF%20VOTE%20(2).pdf November 5, 2024 live 2008 First Congressional Special Election Run Off Certification Hosemann Delbert Delbert Hosemann May 27, 2008 Secretary of State of Mississippi March 24, 2026Greg DavisRepublicanTravis ChildersDemocraticMarginTotal#%#%#%Alcorn1,82139.02%2,84660.98%1,02521.96%4,667Benton32628.90%80271.10%47642.20%1,128Calhoun88542.16%1,21457.84%32915.67%2,099Chickasaw74427.08%2,00372.92%1,25945.83%2,747Choctaw49047.30%54652.70%565.41%1,036Clay1,04726.86%2,85173.14%1,80446.28%3,898DeSoto15,32974.82%5,15925.18%-10,170-49.64%20,488Grenada1,67251.07%1,60248.93%-70-2.14%3,274Itawamba1,04739.66%1,59360.34%54620.68%2,640Lafayette2,28747.32%2,54652.68%2595.36%4,833Lee4,92341.99%6,80258.01%1,87916.03%11,725Lowndes3,75745.68%4,46754.32%7108.63%8,224Marshall1,60531.58%3,47868.42%1,87336.85%5,083Monroe1,86934.23%3,59165.77%1,72231.54%5,460Panola2,21242.20%3,03057.80%81815.60%5,242Pontotoc1,68047.02%1,89352.98%2135.96%3,573Prentiss91414.71%5,29985.29%4,38570.58%6,213Tate2,13257.07%1,60442.93%-528-14.13%3,736Tippah1,11341.01%1,60158.99%48817.98%2,714Tishomingo1,03339.88%1,55760.12%52420.23%2,590Union1,32243.86%1,69256.14%37012.28%3,014Webster (part)73558.43%52341.57%-212-16.85%1,258Winston (part)440.00%660.00%220.00%10Yalobusha93041.11%1,33258.89%40217.77%2,262Totals49,87746.22%58,03753.78%8,1607.56%107,914 Newspaper endorsements Childers was endorsed by the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal,April 18, 2008 EDITORIAL:Childers best choice 4 (Section B) Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=271891&pub=1&div=Opinion dead http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080919042945/http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=271891&pub=1&div=Opinion September 19, 2008 The Commercial Dispatch,April 20, 2008 Childers for Congress The Commercial Dispatch http://cdispatch.com/articles/2008/04/20/opinion/opinion8730.txt dead May 12, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708130018/http://cdispatch.com/articles/2008/04/20/opinion/opinion8730.txt July 8, 2011 and The Commercial Appeal''.May 11, 2008 Childers for Mississippi's 1st District The Commercial Appeal http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/may/11/editorial-childers-for-mississippis-1st/ See also 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Mississippi Mississippi's 1st congressional district 2008 United States Senate special election in Mississippi 2008 Illinois's 14th congressional district special election 2008 Louisiana's 6th congressional district special election External links Official election page from Mississippi Secretary of State NE MS Daily Journal, Election Results http://www.djournal.com/pages/election2008.asp http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080919031613/http://www.djournal.com/pages/election2008.asp September 19, 2008 April 23, 2008 Commercial Dispatch Online, Election Results https://web.archive.org/web/20080517044624/http://www.cdispatch.com/election/ May 17, 2008 Campaigns' websites Childers for Congress http://www.childersforcongress.com/tc_district.html dead http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080903193522/http://www.childersforcongress.com/tc_district.html September 3, 2008 February 6, 2008 Coleman for Congress 2008 http://www.colemanforcongress2008.com/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080316042555/http://www.colemanforcongress2008.com/ March 16, 2008 February 2, 2018 Greg Davis for Congress Steve Holland for Congress https://web.archive.org/web/20080318234528/http://stevehollandforcongress.com/ March 18, 2008 Wally Pang for Congress http://www.wallypangforcongress.com/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20080510025317/http://www.wallypangforcongress.com/ May 10, 2008 April 23, 2008 Vote John Wages https://web.archive.org/web/20080329114028/http://www.votejohnwages.com/ March 29, 2008 References Mississippi 2008 01 Mississippi 2008 01 2008 01 Special Mississippi 01 Special United States House of Representatives 01 Special United States House of Representatives 2008 01 United States House of Representatives Mississippi 01