Mississippi Senate race: Cindy Hyde-Smith defeats Mike Espy – By Grace Segers (cbsnews.com) / Nov 27 2018
Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated challenger Mike Espy, a Democrat, in the runoff election for the U.S. Senate in Mississippi, CBS News projects. Hyde-Smith was appointed earlier this year by GOP Gov. Phil Bryant after Sen. Thad Cochran, also a Republican, stepped down. Hyde-Smith is the first woman elected to the Senate from Mississippi, and the Republican majority in the Senate will grow to 53-47.
Espy, her opponent, is a former congressman and former agriculture secretary.
Hyde-Smith and Espy advanced to a run-off because neither won 50 percent of the vote in the general election on Nov. 6. Hyde-Smith won 41.2 percent, compared to Espy’s 40.8 percent, and Republican Chris McDaniel picked up 16.5 percent.
President Trump endorsed Hyde-Smith, and visited Mississippi on Monday for two rallies supporting her campaign.
https://twitter.com/edokeefe/status/1067624427733565440
Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.
Follow Mississippi Senate special election live updates as they happened:
Hyde-Smith: “Mississippians know me”
Hyde-Smith spoke with reporters briefly before she was to address supporters. She said that nothing in this race has discouraged her from running for office in the future, and she identified prison reform and the economy as issues she’ll focus on in Washington.
Given the partisanship that infected the Senate campaign, Hyde-Smith was asked how she will represent all Mississippians.
“Mississippians know me. I always have. I always will,” she replied. Later, she added, “Wait and see. Wait and see….People tried to turn this into something it’s not.”
“I want everybody to know, no matter who you voted for today, I’m gonna always represent every Mississippian,” says Cindy Hyde-Smith, after Senate runoff win. https://t.co/lyHm1wyUFr pic.twitter.com/BDeaRBjRHk
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 28, 2018
Espy concedes: “not the result we were hoping for”
Espy said in a statement, “While this is not the result we were hoping for, I am proud of the historic campaign we ran and grateful for the support we received across Mississippi.” He vowed that tonight’s election “is the beginning, not the end” and promised that “we are not going to stop moving our state forward just because of one election. I look forward to finding new ways to do just that.”
“She has my prayers as she goes to Washington to unite a very divided Mississippi,” says Mike Espy after his opponent Cindy Hyde-Smith wins Senate runoff. https://t.co/p6K0GXcPxP pic.twitter.com/5GziH7Vodn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 28, 2018
Trump tweets congratulations to Hyde-Smith
After defeating her Democratic challenger, President Trump tweeted his congratulations to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. “We are all very proud of you,” he wrote.
Congratulations to Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith on your big WIN in the Great State of Mississippi. We are all very proud of you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2018
Polls are closed
Polls closed in Mississippi at 8 p.m. ET. Districts will report to the secretary of state as they tally the final results in their respective districts.
Trump says he thinks Hyde-Smith will do “very well”
President Trump told the Washington Post in an interview Tuesday that he was optimistic about Hyde-Smith’s chances after holding two campaign rallies in Mississippi on Monday.
“Based on the enthusiasm we saw there I think we’re going to do very well, but we’ll see,” he said.
However, Mr. Trump complained that regardless of the result, he would be treated unfairly.
“I know one thing: If she loses, I’ll be blamed, and if she wins, I’ll be given no credit. That’s the only thing I know,” he said.
Republican voters rally behind Hyde-Smith despite reservations
Republican voters in Mississippi may not be thrilled with Hyde-Smith as a candidate, but they are coalescing behind her as the GOP candidate in the race.
“She’s a Republican, I guess,” said Jerry Smith, a grandfather and longtime Mississippi resident, about why he was voting for Hyde-Smith. He was not deterred by the backlash to her racially-tinged comments about being willing to attend a “public hanging.”
“I think it’s been overblown,” Smith said over a simmering plate of Chinese food at the Edgewater Mall in Biloxi. “But I ask myself sometimes, which are the two of the least evil — which of the two are the least evil. I’m voting for Smith. I just think she’s the less of the two evils.”
Betty Lechman, a Biloxi-area resident of five decades, told CBS News’ Kathryn Watson that she would vote for Hyde-Smith because she was a Republican.
“But like I said, neither one of them, I wish I had somebody else to vote for. But it’s not going to happen,” Lechman added. “All the mud-slinging. I don’t like mud-slinging and both of them are doing that.”
Her friend, Marion Cranmer, also a retired longtime Mississippi resident, agreed.
“There’s been too much mud-slinging,” Cranmer said, frustrated. “You just wonder sometimes what you hear about her whether some of it’s not true. But, it just kind of puts you on the fence. I don’t like either one of them.”
As of Monday, Cranmer wasn’t sure if she’d be voting. But, “if you don’t vote for her, it’s a vote for him,” she added.
Dianne Swennumson, an Espy supporter, said that she wasn’t confident about the Democratic candidate’s chances. She and her husband have supported Republicans in the past but say they’re appalled by Mr. Trump’s rhetoric and behavior. Swennumson was always planning to vote for Espy, but felt more certain about her decision after Hyde-Smith’s “public hanging” comment.
“I think he has a chance but I think this is Mississippi,” Swennumson said. “I wish we could be like Alabama who had enough with Roy Moore, you know. I really didn’t think that was going to happen but it did, and it could be.”
“I’ll be totally shocked if Espy wins,” Swennumson added.
