RACE OF THE DAY: Miss.-04

There’s not much more Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) can do to distance himself from his party this fall. 

The Blue Dog Democrat has signed a petition to repeal the healthcare reform law, pledged not to support House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for another stint as Speaker and revealed in an interview that he didn’t even vote for President Obama in 2008. 

“I did not vote for Obama. I voted for Sen. McCain,” Taylor told reporter Maria Recio, she said in an interview with The Hill. “Better the devil you know.” Taylor was one of the few Democrats on Capitol Hill who declined to endorse Obama in 2008. 

The question now is whether Taylor’s all-out sprint away from his party’s leadership will be enough to help him survive an unexpectedly tough Republican challenge next week.

A Taylor loss on Election Day would be the ultimate statement of discontent with the national Democratic Party, which is what Taylor’s GOP challenger, Steven Palazzo, is banking on. 

Palazzo has a tougher sell than most GOP challengers this fall when it comes to tying his Democratic opponent to Pelosi. But that hasn’t stopped him from trying.

Along with publicly criticizing the Speaker, Taylor voted against healthcare and cap-and-trade while putting Pelosi on notice that he wants Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) as Speaker should Democrats retain their majority this fall. 

Still, Taylor is nothing but a Pelosi pawn, according to Palazzo and national Republicans.

“Gene Taylor’s lost his way and he votes with Nancy Pelosi almost 80 percent of the time,” the narrator says in a recent Palazzo attack ad. “Gene Taylor — he’s a disappointment, and it’s time to send him home.”   

One Palazzo ad focuses on Taylor’s two previous votes for Pelosi as Speaker.  

An 11-term incumbent, Taylor has faced minimal opposition over the course of his career. Two years ago, the Democrat won reelection with 75 percent of the vote in a district carried by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) with 67 percent. 

Palazzo did outraise Taylor during the third quarter, hauling in some $312,000 to the Democrat’s $160,000. The incumbent still has more cash on hand than Palazzo, sitting on $330,000 to the Republican’s $204,000, but Taylor’s third-quarter total was disappointing.  

There has been little public polling in the race, but the candidates have battled over internals. 

Taylor’s camp has boasted numbers that show the Democrat up by eight percentage points, while Palazzo’s campaign has said the Republican’s polling has him within four points of Taylor. 

-Jordan Fabian contributed to this post.