Democrats picked up a northern Mississippi House seat in one of the most conservative-minded districts in the country Tuesday night -- an upset that will reverberate darkly through a House Republican caucus already reeling from losses in special elections in Illinois and Louisiana.

With 434 of 462 precincts reporting, the Democratic nominee, Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers, leads Republican Greg Davis, 53 to 47 percent. The Associated Press has called the race for Childers.

The victory marks the Democrats’ third straight special election pickup in three months. It will be a serious blow to the Republican Party’s already-flagging morale and will surely prompt a new round of finger-pointing among the already fractured GOP caucus.

"This loss is going to prompt serious introspection by our conference to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it," said a GOP leadership aide. "We have time to do that, and we will if we learn our lessons leading into November. But the next couple of days are not going to be pretty."

The special election was held to fill the seat of former Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who was appointed to serve out the remainder of Sen. Trent Lott’s term last December. Wicker had never faced a competitive race since first elected in 1994, and the district gave President Bush 62 percent of the vote in 2004.

The results amount to a rebuke of the Republican strategy of trying nationalize the race by tying Childers to Sen. Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Obama held low approval ratings in the district, but the nearly $2 million that GOP groups poured into northern Mississippi failed to make the race a referendum on the national political landscape.

Republicans dispatched a lineup of heavy hitters in the campaign’s final week, including a pre-election stop Monday by Vice President Dick Cheney. President Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and First Lady Laura Bush recorded automated calls urging voters to support Davis.

A GOP House leadership aide told Politico last week that “if we don’t win in Mississippi, I think you are going to see a lot of people running around here looking for windows to jump out of.”

The $1.27 million that the NRCC spent in the heavily Republican district amounted to nearly 20 percent of the committee's entire cash-on-hand. The committee has now spent more than $3 million to defend three conservative House seats, losing all three of them, and it is ill-equipped financially to compete fully in an ever-widening playing field for November.

For his part, Childers effectively downplayed the national implications of the contest, instead framing the race as a geographic battle between his home base in the 20 largely rural counties in the northeast corner of Mississippi and Davis’ base in the newer and fast-growing Memphis suburbs.

Childers scored large margins of victory and improved turnout in most of the district’s smaller rural counties and his home county of Prentiss, and he managed to cut slightly into Davis’ margin of victory in his home base around the South Memphis suburbs.

"His victory has sent a political thunderbolt across America tonight," DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen said in a statement. "It is yet another rejection of the House Republican agenda, the Bush Administration’s misguided policies, and John McCain’s campaign for a third Bush term."

This couldn’t happen to a classier group of people. George W. Bush has done about as much damage to GOP fortunes as Richard Nixon did for the GOP during the 1974 mid-term elections – a mid-term massacre for the Republicans.

I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to America’s worst commander and chief than leaving office in disgrace – and bringing his party down with him. Too bad they didn’t repudiate him when they had the chance. Too little, too late.

Just think about how quickly the fortunes of the GOP have turned. Given its failure of leadership, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. George W. Bush and the Republican Congress accomplished little in 7 years except war and gross fiscal mismanagement. The economy is in the tank and George W. Bush refuses to accept any responsibility. He likes to blame anyone but his failed policies.

Our long national nightmare will soon be over. God save us all.

Herb, are you still excited for this fall? If you guys are losing seats in very conservative districts in the south, what does that say about your chances in less conservative swing districts?

I dont want to ever hear you say you dont like or want Herb here, Clearly that is not the case

I don't believe I've ever asked anyone to leave...

The cry for attention from Herb is too much

"Herb, are you still excited for this fall?"

Great question.

I'm a tad different from other conservatives. For me, it's less about how many seats will be won or lost in the house or senate.

For me, it's about things like fighting terror, the 2nd Amendment right to self-defense and the Pro-Life cause.

With our hero John McCain in office, we'll be well-positioned to fight terror with a chief executive who knows exactly what it means to put our brave men and women in harm's way. I also don't think he wants to disarm law-abiding citizens, either.

And now that the diabolical practice of partial birth abortion is banned, it's on to other issues to reinforce our gains, like additional conservative supreme court nominees.

I will do a little dance when Ruth Bader Ginsberg is no longer on the court.

Yet I'm not a complete conservative lackey. There's plenty with which I disagree with my fellow republicans. And with very few changes among the candidates, I would be pulling the lever for Mr. Obama.

When the democrat party goes Pro-Life, count on getting some of my votes.

Herb

This link is just for Herb.

For everyone else, hoist a cold one and celebrate the House wins! So far, big blue has rolled through crimson red districts in Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi.

That's an absolutely awesome web link, Littlesongs.

Hoist a Stella for Ol' Herb whilst you're at it.

Herb

That's pretty bad. The Republicans have now lost this district, Tom DeLay's old district, Hastert's old district. I guess they aren't as gullible on the right as I thought. It would be really funny if the Dems took seats in Alabama too.

I dont want to ever hear you say you don't like or want Herb here, Clearly that is not the case.

We keep waiting for you Mc and you ground breaking intelligence to grace us.