I didn't think the Dems would pull this one off. The Republicans brought Cheney in late bout of campaigning -- maybe not such a bad idea. But it looks like Childers is going to win this thing. He's only narrowly ahead. But it's pretty much only his strong precincts that are still to report.

Late Update: AP's called it. Childers takes Mississippi's 1st district, an incredibly Republican district.

Later Update: To put this into some broader perspective, the Republicans have lost three straight Republican districts to the Democrats in by-elections this year. Hastert's district in Illinois, Louisiana 6th, and now Mississippi 1st. Each successively more Republican than the last. In Mississippi 1st, President Bush got 62% of the vote there in 2004.

Symbolic Number Update: On the symbolic level, this pulls the House GOP caucus down to 199 -- below 200.