Contact: Sammy McDavid
David A. Breaux, head of the political science department at Mississippi State University, recently completed a study of soft money and issue advocacy spending in Mississippi's 2002 3rd District congressional race. The new configured district was created in response to the state's lagging population growth as determined by the 2000 census.
In introducing the report, Breaux [pronounced Broe] observes that the contest between incumbents Chip Pickering and Ronnie Shows "turned out to be the fifth most expensive seat [nationally] in the 2002 mid-term election and the most expensive congressional campaign in the state's history." For a number of reasons, he ultimately concludes, "it [is] difficult to imagine Mississippi will experience similar levels of campaign activity in the foreseeable future."
Breaux's research is part of a larger study being conducted under the auspices of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy and funded by the Pew Charitable Trust. While detailed, his report is not too long, filling nine typed pages, three of which are supporting charts. It may be accessed at http://www.ur.msstate.edu/news/stories/2003/breauxreport.pdf.
Should you have questions that the report does not answer, feel free to contact Breaux at (662) 325-2771 or dab1@ps.msstate.edu.