Mississippi Senate runoff nears finale
28 November, 2018
President Donald Trump rallied voters Monday for Republican Senate appointee Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has found herself in a closer-than-expected runoff contest after comments she made about attending a public hanging drew condemnation.
As Trump praised Hyde-Smith at two high-profile rallies in different parts of the state, her opponent, Democrat Mike Espy, spoke at a predominantly African-American church and described his campaign as an effort to reach across the “chasm of racial division.”
The runoff election Tuesday will decide who serves the final two years of a term begun by Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who resigned in April amid health concerns.
The historic contest features Hyde-Smith, who would be the first woman elected to Congress from Mississippi, against Espy, who’s vying to become the state’s first black senator since Reconstruction.
It’s a contest that has been buffeted by racial tensions after Hyde-Smith’s public hanging comments. And the tensions continued right up until Election Day with the discovery of seven nooses and six handwritten signs on Capitol grounds Monday morning.
It was not immediately known who put them there. The signs referred to the state’s history of lynchings and the Senate race. One sign said Mississippi needs a senator “who respects the lives of lynch victims.”
At rallies in Tupelo and then in Biloxi, Trump praised Hyde-Smith and called on voters to send her back to Washington. She was appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to fill the senate seat after Cochran retired.
“She votes for us and she votes for ‘Make America Great Again,’” Trump said in Tupelo, where he was accompanied by Hyde-Smith.
Trump called her “a truly incredible leader and tireless champion” for Mississippi.
“She stood up to the Democrat smear machine,” Trump said, praising her for voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Hyde-Smith, who has made the Trump rallies a highlight of her runoff campaign, told the crowd in Tupelo: “I worked very, very hard for you. I have stood up for you and you know I will continue to stand up for the conservative values of Mississippi.”
But race has become a dominant issue as Hyde-Smith faces Espy, a former congressman and U.S. agriculture secretary.
Hyde-Smith has drawn fire for a photo showing her wearing a replica hat of a Confederate soldier, and a video showing her praising a supporter by saying, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.”
Mississippi has a history of racially motivated lynchings and violence against people who sought voting rights for black citizens. About 38 percent of the state’s residents are black. Espy is trying to boost their turnout and pick up support from white voters who are uneasy with Trump or the racially tinged stories about Hyde-Smith.
Espy spoke for nearly 30 minutes Monday to a crowd of about 200 people gathered at church in Jackson. He called on his supporters to go out to vote on Tuesday “like it’s a holiday.”