Jerome and Todd noted this already, but there's more information surrounding the news that Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi will join many of his Republican colleagues in the chamber and retire rather than run for reelection this cycle. WashingtonPost.com's Chris Cillizza:

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) announced moments ago that a special election to fill the remaining four years on Sen. Trent Lott's (R) term will happen next November, effectively ruling out the possibility of a 90-day special election next spring.

"Pursuant to Mississippi law, specifically § 23-15-855 (1), of the Mississippi Code, once the resignation takes effect, I will call a Special Election for United States Senator to be held on November 4, 2008, being the regular general election day for the 2008 congressional elections," Barbour said in a statement.

In that same statement, he also ruled himself out as a candidate. "I will not be a candidate for Senator in the Special Election, and obviously, I won't appoint myself to fill the vacancy on an interim basis," Barbour said. Barbour will appoint a replacement for Lott within 10 days of the incumbent formally stepping down.

[...]

For Democrats, the Fix has learned that former state Attorney General Mike Moore -- Democrats' dream candidate -- is indeed interested in the contest and is considering a race. If Moore ran, he would likely clear the field. If not, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is the most oft-mentioned candidate. Rep. Gene Taylor (D) did not return a call seeking comment on his interest in a Senate bid but most national strategists believe he is a long shot. Former Rep. Mike Espy is also mentioned on the Democratic side but not considered a likely candidate.

This is about as bad of news as the GOP could stomach at this point. Already four other Republican Senators (Wayne Allard in Colorado; Pete Domenici in New Mexico; Chuck Hagel in Nebraska; and John Warner in Virginia) have announced their intention to retire, and one more (Larry Craig in Idaho) is not expected to run for reelection, either. As such, the Republicans now have to defend more seats than any caucus in more than a decade. What's more, the last time that one caucus had to defend at least five more open seats than its opposition -- the Republicans in 1958 -- the other side picked up 13 seats, including three in states in which the incumbent had retired. Although one wouldn't or shouldn't surmise from this historical fact that the Democrats are likely to pick up more than a dozen seats in the Senate this cycle, given the fact that the Democrats are defending fewer seats than the Republicans and that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee holds more than a 2-to-1 cash-on-hand advantage over the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee the Democrats have a lot more resources to go on the offense than the Republicans do to go on the defense.

Compounding the Republicans' broad problem here is the fact that Moore is reportedly looking seriously at this race. As I've noted on a number of occasions, Moore sported a 65 percent favorable rating within Mississippi as recently as 2002, when he was still serving as the state's Attorney General, so he's a fairly popular figure who has a proven track record of winning statewide elections. Certainly, it has been more difficult for Democrats in recent cycles (heck, in recent decades) to win open seat federal races than open seat state or local races in the Deep South. That said, Republicans nationally continue to be significantly less popular than they have been in recent memory, and Moore is potentially as strong a candidate as the Democrats have fielded in such a race in a long time. So I wouldn't be tremendously surprised if, in the case of a Moore run, this becomes one of the most closely fought elections this cycle with the Democrats having a genuine opportunity of winning their first Senate election in the state since 1982.

Update [2007-11-26 17:23:46 by Jonathan Singer]: Not so fast, Mr. Barbour. Apparently, if Lott does retire by the end of the year -- as he seems intent to do -- the special election would have to be within 90 days of the resignation. In such a low turnout special election, a popular, big profile Democrat might be even more likely to be able to walk away with a victory...