By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff

There will be a New Year’s Eve Senate name-dropping in Mississippi, when Republican Gov. Haley Barbour is scheduled to announce his appointee as the interim replacement to resigned Republican Sen. Trent Lott .

Republican Rep. Roger Wicker of the 1st District is widely regarded as a leading candidate to be Barbour’s choice, and other GOP figures are thought to be under consideration.

While Barbour has not tipped his hand, one prominent Mississippi Republican — retiring 3rd District Rep. Charles W. “Chip” Pickering Jr. — took it upon himself Friday afternoon to remove himself from the running for the seat that Lott vacated for personal reasons on Dec. 18.

Pickering said in a statement that he had asked Barbour to remove his name from consideration for the Senate appointment, which is effective through a special election that will coincide with the regularly scheduled general elections next Nov. 4. The winner of that contest will serve the remaining four years of the term that Lott won in November 2006,

The 44-year-old Pickering, who was first elected to the House in 1996, has long been mentioned as a likely successor to Lott or Republican Sen. Thad Cochran , who is seeking a sixth six-year term in 2008. But Pickering’s decision to not pursue a Senate appointment was not surprising, because he had announced in August that he would not seek re-election to the House next year and wanted to spend more time with his wife and young children.

“I continue to stand by that decision in relation to this Senate vacancy,” Pickering said. “I believe public service is an honorable calling. But now is not my time.”

Barbour will hold two press conferences Monday — one in Jackson at 11 a.m. central time, the other in Gulfport at 1:30 p.m. central time — to announce his Senate choice. The appointee whom Barbour names will be expected to run in the November special election. The Democratic field for that race is uncertain in a state where Republicans have dominated recent presidential and Senate elections.

The candidate qualifying deadline for the special election is Jan. 11. All official candidates will appear on a single ballot Nov. 4. If one candidate should receive a majority of all votes, he or she will be automatically elected. Otherwise, a runoff election will be held Nov. 25 between the top two vote-getters regardless of party.