Political rhetoric in the race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Republican Trent Lott has been amplified recently as down-ticket candidates try to steal some spotlight from the presidential race.

There had been a lull in the coverage of the requisite fingerpointing between Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat.

Wicker represented Mississippi’s 1st District in the U.S. House for 13 years. He has been in the Senate since December, when Republican Gov. Haley Barbour appointed him to hold the spot until a Nov. 4 election. The winner will serve the remaining four years of Lott’s six-year term.

Many Mississippians have been more interested in the presidential campaign to see which Democrat would emerge to face presumptive GOP nominee John McCain. Hillary Clinton ended her presidential bid just over a week ago, leaving Barack Obama as the Democrats’ apparent nominee.

Soon after, Musgrove’s campaign began sending a flurry of news releases taking jabs at Wicker. The campaign made it seem as if Wicker backed out of an appearance at next month’s Neshoba County Fair because he didn’t want to share a forum with Musgrove on the same day.

The fair is an eight-day gathering in the red clay hills of east central Mississippi, where politicians give raucous speeches under a tin-roof pavilion. Musgrove and Wicker would have been the top draws since this isn’t an election year for statewide offices.

“I like to believe you can take a man at his word, but Wicker agreed to this debate weeks ago and now he crawfishes out of it,” Tim Phillips, Musgrove’s campaign manager said in a news release.

Musgrove then challenged Wicker to appear with him at town hall meetings.

“No highly stylized presidential-type debates — just a series of frank conversations with voters,” Musgrove said in a statement. “No gimmicks, no props, no podiums, no spin — just two candidates for office talking with the people.”

But Wicker spokesman Ryan Annison said a scheduling conflict would prevent Wicker’s appearance at the fair the same day as Musgrove. However, Annison said Wicker “probably” will give a speech before the fair ends. Annison also said that Wicker “welcomes a series of honest debates in the fall that fits both candidates’ schedule.”

While the heat has turned up lately, there have been flare-ups in the last few months, including a court fight over the November election date and some bad press for Musgrove. The former governor found himself in defense mode after one of his old campaign donors was indicted this spring in a fraud case tied to a failed beef plant that cost the state millions of dollars.

Wicker served seven years as state senator from Tupelo before being elected to Congress in 1994, replacing the venerable U.S. Rep. Jamie Whitten, a Democrat who had been House Appropriations Chairman before retiring.

Musgrove, now an attorney in private practice in Madison County, was governor from January 2000 to January 2004, when he was defeated by Barbour. Musgrove also had served four years as lieutenant governor and eight as state senator from Batesville.

There’s no doubt Wicker and Musgrove are in a tight race, said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato.

Musgrove is better known, and last month’s win by Democrat Travis Childers over Republican Greg Davis for Wicker’s old House seat shows “it’s a Democratic year.” Still, Sabato said he would be surprised if Wicker loses.

“He’s got a mountain to climb. He’s going to really have to work for it,” Sabato said of Wicker. “It’s not going to fall in his lap as most elections in Mississippi fall in the Republican lap.”

Shelia Byrd covers Mississippi for the Associated Press.