Mississippi U.S. Senate race election results: Cindy Hyde-Smith defeats Mike Espy
Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mississippi's first woman in Congress, will return to Washington, D.C., for her first full term after fending off Democrat Mike Espy on Tuesday for the second time in two years.
"Mississippi is not for sale," Hyde-Smith said in victory speech, taking a dig at Espy's huge fundraising numbers. "The only thing better than beating Mike Espy is to beat him twice."
The race was a rematch of a 2018 special election. The seat opened up after the late Sen. Thad Cochran, a Republican, stepped down due to health issues. Hyde-Smith became the first woman elected to represent the state in Congress, winning by more than 7 points.
Hyde-Smith is a cattle rancher and former state agriculture commissioner. Espy is a former congressman and U.S. agriculture secretary who would have become the state's first Black U.S. senator had he won.
It was an exceedingly quiet election season for Hyde-Smith — she scarcely advertised any campaign events until the past couple weeks — following a rocky 2018 campaign season that had included her making controversial comments related to attending a "public hanging" and appearing to make light of voter suppression.
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This time around, Espy went after her repeatedly for those remarks, and for her effectiveness as a senator. Hyde-Smith sought to brush off his attacks, saying she wasn't listening to the "noise" and that she was too busy working in Washington, D.C. She was quick to tout in recent weeks her vote for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Espy had gained momentum in recent weeks, in large part thanks to a huge influx in fundraising. Since the start of the year, he raised $9.4 million, a large chunk of it coming via small donations over the final few weeks of the race following the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
In comparison Hyde-Smith, the incumbent, struggled to keep pace, bringing in only about $3 million this year. Both campaigns raised enough, however, to each blanket the state in a flurry of television ads in recent weeks, many of them negative.
His strategy centered on improving health care and turning out as many Black voters as possible, similar levels as came out to support former President Barack Obama. Hyde-Smith primarily campaigned on her conservative credentials and support for President Donald Trump, given the president won the state by 18 points four years ago.
Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter.