Senator Byrd Dead at 92...

I'll leave it to (many) others to write his obituary.  Here I want to talk about another issue: his successor.

Replacing a Senator is controlled by state law, not federal – so each state has different rules.  As best I can tell through some research this morning, West Virginia law contains two different rules:

1. Replacing a Senator less than 30 months before the end of the term.  In this case, the governor appoints a replacement who serves until the end of the original term.
   
   
2. Replacing a Senator more than 30 months before the end of the term.  In this case, the governor appoints a replacement who serves only until an interim election is called, at which point the voters elect a replacement to serve until the end of the term.

West Virginia's governor is a Democrat, so the appointment will almost certainly be to another Democrat.  Senator Byrd's term expires in January 2013, so the magic date is July 3, 2010 (if my math is right).  That means that the second rule should apply.  And that means there is at least the possibility of a Democratic loss in the interim election...