By By William F. West / community editor
Aug. 15, 2002
U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering's mother will remain hospitalized for about a week after undergoing quadruple-bypass surgery Wednesday, one of his spokesmen said.
Chip Pickering's opponent in a hotly-contested 3rd Congressional District race, U.S. Rep. Ronnie Shows, also has a loved one who is battling health problems. His 77-year-old father, Clifford, remains hospitalized at Veterans Administration Medical Center in Jackson following lung surgery.
Margaret Ann Pickering suffered a heart attack on Saturday evening while at home in Jones County, and was taken to an undisclosed hospital. Spokesman Henry Barbour said she suffered a "mild" attack and there was no apparent permanent damage.
She is the wife of U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering.
Shows spokesman Troy Colbert said Clifford Shows' surgery "was kind of touch-and-go for a while." 
Chip Pickering, 39, a Republican who represents the 3rd Congressional District, and Ronnie Shows, 55, the Democratic 4th District representative, are competing for the right to represent a newly re-drawn 3rd District.
The two junior members of Mississippi's congressional delegation were thrown together in a new district after sluggish population growth cost the state one of its five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Voters will make their choice on Nov. 5.