NATCHEZ &8212; Tuesday&8217;s election will determine who will represent Mississippi in the U.S. Senate: Erik R. Fleming-D, Trent Lott-R, or Harold M. Taylor-L.

Taylor was unavailable for comment.

Erik R. Fleming

Fleming said Wednesday that although he is not the incumbent, he is optimistic.

&8220;I feel I will win,&8221; Fleming said. &8220;People realize maybe all the folks in one party shouldn&8217;t be making all the decisions.&8221;

Fleming said he plans to address Mississippi&8217;s poverty if elected. He said he would vote to increase the minimum wage and to repeal President Bush&8217;s tax cuts and replace them with &8220;real tax breaks.&8221;

&8220;That tax cut helps one-tenth of one percent,&8221; Fleming said. &8220;It&8217;s economically good for them, not for average people.&8221;

He also said he wanted to take away the penalty for investing more than a certain percentage of one&8217;s income.

Looking ahead, Fleming said he would promote teaching entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

If people were financially literate, he said, they would be able to create jobs.

&8220;I want to strengthen Mississippi&8217;s economy,&8221; Fleming said. &8220;You can only have so many casinos and industrial plants. We need to build business in our neighborhoods and our communities.&8221;

Sen. Trent Lott

Sen. Trent Lott said through his press secretary, Lee Youngblood, that he thought his 30 years of legislative experience was much needed in the state&8217;s recovery from Hurricane Katrina, including victims who were not reimbursed by their insurance companies.

&8220;There are people stuck with a slab and a mortgage and no way to rebuild,&8221; Youngblood said. &8220;He will try to affect that.&8221;

He would also continue trying to promote job growth in the state, as he has in the past, Youngblood said. The best way for someone to overcome poverty, he said, is to get a job, and the best way to draw jobs is to fund transportation.

&8220;Mississippi is better posed than ever to try to grow economically,&8221; Youngblood said. &8220;He said he wants to be a part of that.&8221;

Through Youngblood, Lott said he was particularly proud of helping to author and pass the legislation that initiated the Gulf opportunity zones, where businesses in hurricane-stricken areas were eligible for tax breaks.