Mississippi Democrat Brandon Presley

While Sen. Roger Wicker may need to watch his back in the GOP primary if state Sen. Chris McDaniel runs, Mississippi Republicans rarely have much to worry about from Team Blue here anymore. Still, one interesting Democrat is making noises about running. The Daily Journal's Bobby Harrison writes that Brandon Presley, who chairs the three-member state Public Service Commissioner, has not ruled out getting in, and has only said he enjoys his current gig. For his part, Presley tweeted a link to the article and wrote, "A Presley in the Senate? You can bet that lazy DC bunch needs to be 'All Shook Up'!" And yes, he is related to Elvis.

Presley, who represents northern Mississippi on the commission, has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for higher office for a while. In late 2014, Presley raised some eyebrows when he held a Washington fundraiser hosted by some big names. There was speculation that Presley could run for lieutenant governor or even challenge Republican Gov. Phil Bryant in 2015, and he didn't do anything to dispel the rumors for months. However, Presley ended up running for re-election, and he won 61-39.

The next year, Presley's district backed Trump 61-37, a little to the right of his statewide 58-40 win. There aren't too many Mississippi Democrats left who have won territory this red with a D next to their name (public service commission races are partisan), and if Presley actually is interested, he could have the name-recognition and connections to make things interesting. Still, this is an incredibly tough state under the very best of circumstances, and even the prospect of McDaniel as the GOP nominee may not be enough to put it in play.

There may also be more unpredictability in store this cycle in Mississippi. Sen. Thad Cochran, who narrowly beat McDaniel in the 2014 primary runoff, isn't up until 2020. However, Politico reports that 79-year old incumbent "appeared frail and at times disoriented during a brief hallway interview on Wednesday." Cochran insists he's not going anywhere, but political observers are speculating whom Bryant could appoint to the seat if Cochran doesn't complete his term.