Espy’s Political Hopes Stalled in Mississippi As Last Race in Midterm Election Ends

When the polls closed in Mississippi, the commentators began studying exit polls and revisiting the national dynamics that contributed to a runoff in a U.S. Senate race that many believed would have been decided November 6^th with Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith a safe bet for a trip to Washington. And, when Democrat Mike Espy, a former Secretary of Agriculture during the Clinton Administration, political analysts raised questions about the Republican Party.

“The Republican Party has problems,” said CNN’s John King.

Political consultant, Mondale Robinson, agreed. “First the fact that Mississippi is a bright red state that, in theory, should be an easy victory for Republicans had a runoff for a senate seat is by itself national news,” he said. “And, when you add the fact that the president said this election cycle was a vote for or against him only added fuel to the story surrounding this election.”

The race grabbed national headlines after the midterm elections and demonstrated voters sustained interest in politics and the direction of the country. Hyde-Smith’s use of a racially-tinged comment about “attending a public hanging” pushed the contest into the spotlight where it remained.

“Cindy Hyde-Smith ran a very conservative campaign, one that played to the worst fears of White Americans rather than being a champion of conservative principles…she took pages out of Trump’s bigoted playbook.”

African American voters supported Espy. But, Robinson, who has run a campaign in Mississippi, suggested Espy missed an opportunity to excite his base.

“At times Espy was extremely timid and afraid to be as progressive as necessary to turn out Black voters,” he said. “This strategy is, no doubt, that of a consultant class that doesn’t value the Black vote and still thinks the way towards victory for Democrats is to be ‘Republican-lite.’ This is a failed tactic, yet, it seems to continue to exist in many of the prominent political circles.”

President Trump made several trips to Mississippi to bolster Hyde-Smith’s campaign. On Monday when he traveled to the state for two rallies, nooses were found on the grounds of the state Capitol in Jackson. An investigation is underway.

But, today continues Cindy Hyde-Smith’s career as a U.S. Senator. She had been appointed to the seat until a special election to complete the last two years of longtime Republican Senator, Thad Cochran, who retired earlier this year due to health challenges. According to Robinson, Hyde-Smith’s win does not negate the Democrats success in the 2018 midterm election cycle.

“I think the dust is settling and folk are seeing how many seats the Democrats actually won in the House since election night,” he emphasized. “There was talk about it not really being a blue wave, but now that we see Democrats actually picked up 39 seats in the House, we know that it is a huge deal, and the referendum on Trump was loud and clear. Americans weren’t going for the bigoted ideas of this president. So, the fact that this seat was at the point of a runoff speaks volumes regardless of the outcome.”