Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith easily defeated Democratic challenger Mike Espy in the state’s runoff Senate election Tuesday night, despite having joked about attending a “public hanging.”
By late Tuesday night, Hyde-Smith was up 54 percent to 45 percent with 94 percent of the vote counted, NBC News reported
“I want everybody to know, no matter who you voted for today, I’m going to always represent every Mississippian. I will work very hard and do my very best to make Mississippi very proud,” Hyde-Smith told supporters after her victory.
President Trump called Hyde-Smith to congratulate her after the race, but also tweeted his support. “Congratulations to Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith on your big WIN in the Great State of Mississippi. We are all very proud of you!” Trump tweeted.
Hyde-Smith was appointed to the Senate in April 2018 by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant after Sen. Thad Cochran stepped down due to health issues. She is the first woman to hold a Senate seat in the state — and is now the first woman elected to the Senate in Mississippi.
A runoff election was forced after neither candidate won a majority on Election Day.
Hyde-Smith drew controversy toward the end of the campaign when she was caught joking about attending a public hanging. “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,” she told one of her supporters. Espy, who is black, called her comments “reprehensible.”
The race drew national attention, with the largest political stars in both parties throwing their support behind their respective nominees.
Hyde-Smith tried to tether herself as close as possible to President Trump, touting her pro-Trump voting record and campaigning in a bus dubbed the “MAGA Wagon.”
Former President Obama, meanwhile, backed Espy, recording a robocall that urged his supporters to vote.
“My name may not be on the ballot,” Obama said in the call. “But our future is. And that’s why I believe this is one of the most important elections in our lifetime.”
Hyde-Smith’s win marks the end of the final Senate contest of 2018, leaving the balance of control in the Senate at 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, a 2-seat pickup for the GOP.
With Post Wires