The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is running a new ad that criticizes Roger Wicker for voting repeatedly against expanding children's health insurance, raising the minimum wage and increasing Medicare funding. An accompanying press release details the claims about Wicker's voting record.
The ad also repeats Musgrove's attack on Wicker for voting to raise his own pay nine times. Wicker has indeed voted nine times against bringing Congress' automatic cost-of-living salary increase to a vote. But he is hardly exceptional in that respect. His fellow congressman, Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, voted with him each of those nine times. Rep. Chip Pickering, who is not seeking re-election this year, also voted for a pay raise with Wicker and Thompson on three occasions, in 1997, 1999 and 2004. Rep. Gene Taylor has shown the most opposition to the automatic pay raise of any Mississippi congressman, voting in favor of it only once, in 2001.