Aside from today's West Virginia primary, there is another election going on that is being watched intensely by strategists from both parties: The special election for the House from Mississippi's First District, where the Democrat might just pull off a pickup in an area that shouldn't even be up for grabs.

The district, which voted 62%-37% for President Bush in 2004, was vacated when incumbent Republican Roger Wicker was appointed to the U.S. Senate. Then a curious thing happened three weeks ago, when Democratic nominee Travis Childers led Republican Greg Davis 49%-46% in the first round of voting, but just short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff.

A Republican source explained that this has become something of a regional contest -- Davis is the mayor of a populous Memphis suburb, while Childers has commanded support in the district's rural areas: "This is all gonna come down to turnout. The geographic aspect of this campaign has made it even more competitive."

Both parties have given this race a lot of attention. FEC filings show that the DCCC has spent over $1.8 million on the race, while the NRCC -- which only had about $7 million on hand at the end of March -- has spent nearly $1.3 million.

Remember that the GOP has already lost two deep-red seats in special elections this year, one in Illinois and the other in Louisiana. It would be an understatement to say that a third loss would damage morale and future fundraising ability, if it looks like the cycle will be bad for Republicans all over the map.

The polls close at 8 p.m. ET.