Robert Novak says close associates of Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) "are cautiously optimistic that in 2008 at age 70 he will run for a sixth term in 2008 for a Mississippi seat that otherwise might be in jeopardy for the GOP."
That would be good news for Republicans as former state Attorney General Mike Moore, "the probable Democratic Senate candidate, is better known than Rep. Chip Pickering, the leading Republican prospect if there is an open seat."
A footnote: "Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, an overwhelming favorite for re-election in 2007, has ruled out a Senate bid even if Cochran retires. Becoming a senator was a youthful ambition of Barbour, who was the Republican Senate nominee in 1982 at age 35."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/12/31/in_mississippi_friends_say_cochran_will_likely_run_again.html
