Oct. 22, 2002 -- Incumbent congressmen Ronnie Shows and Chip Pickering are cleaning out their respective campaign war chests to pay for a final ad blitz leading up to the Nov. 5 election for Mississippi's 3rd congressional district.

The representatives were forced to square off in a newly drawn district after Mississippi lost a house seat after the 2000 census. Both candidates' camps have hit the high and low roads, touting their own records and goals in TV ads that feature bucolic backdrop scenes of rural Mississippi and slinging mud in negative ads aimed at derailing their opponent.

"Beyond the apple pie niceties, there are attack ads, including ones sponsored by special interest groups, which show unflattering portrayals of Shows and his vote on lawsuit reform and a denunciation of Pickering's support of tax rebates for corporations," reported the Jackson Clarion Ledger on Oct. 20.

On Oct. 17 the Associated Pres reported that Pickering was ahead of Shows in fundraising, having spent about $2.2 to Shows $1 million. The AP report said that as of a Sept. 30 filing date Picking had $590,000 left to spend before the election, while Shows has $220,000.

The high cost of airtime makes campaign cash a necessity when candidates turn commercial breaks into battlefields. Shows may get some outside help, however, from a national AARP initiative that will target Republicans in key districts.

The Clarion Ledger reported Oct. 20 that the advocacy group for older Americans "is launching a national campaign to say it prefers a Democratic plan to give Medicare recipients prescription drug coverage and opposes GOP plans to partially privatize Social Security." As part of its campaign the AARP will air ads on national network television.