Democrat Travis Childers pulled off a hefty upset tonight in Republican territory, winning a special election in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District. Childers defeated Republican Greg Davis and now will fill the remainder of the term of Roger Wicker, who was appointed to the Senate at the end of last year.

The 1st District voted 62% for President Bush in 2004, and Wicker defeated his Democratic opponent in 2006 with 66%. Tonight, Childers defeated Davis 54%-46% and won 20 of the district's 24 counties.

This is the third Republican seat Democrats have picked up through a special election, out of seven total Republican vacancies during the current Congress; Democrats held on to all four of their vacancies. Former Speaker Dennis Hastert's Illinois seat was won by Democrat Bill Foster in March, and Richard Baker's Louisiana seat was won a week ago by Democrat Don Cazayoux.

With all signs pointing toward an uphill battle this November for Republican House incumbents and challengers, NRCC Chair Tom Cole released a statement tonight all but sounding the alarm:

"We are disappointed in tonight's election results. Though the NRCC, RNC and Mississippi Republicans made a major effort to retain this seat, we came up short.

"Tonight's election highlights two significant challenges Republicans must overcome this November. First, Republicans must be prepared to campaign against Democrat challengers who are running as conservatives, even as they try to join a liberal Democrat majority. Though the Democrats' task will be more difficult in a November election, the fact is they have pulled off two special election victories with this strategy, and it should be a concern to all Republicans.

"Second, the political environment is such that voters remain pessimistic about the direction of the country and the Republican Party in general. Therefore, Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for. This is something we can do in cooperation with our Presidential nominee, but time is short.

"I encourage all Republican candidates, whether incumbents or challengers, to take stock of their campaigns and position themselves for challenging campaigns this fall by building the financial resources and grassroots networks that offer them the opportunity and ability to communicate, energize and turn out voters this election."