Some Republicans in Mississippi say that they will not vote for Cindy Hyde-Smith and racist ways of the Old South in the Senate election runoff.
Republican voter Barbara Miles told NBC News, “The ways of the Old South need to stay in the past and let’s move forward together with new beginnings and have somebody that can cross the aisle and work together. I think Mike Espy is a senator candidate that can do that.”
Video:
Mississippi GOP voter Barbara Miles, “The ways of the Old South need to stay in the past and let’s move forward together and have somebody that can cross the aisle and work together. I think Mike Espy is a senator candidate that can do that.” https://t.co/Enl1OhAvEv pic.twitter.com/ndWFgZ3QdH
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— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 25, 2018
It is unfair to paint all the people in Mississippi as racist. There are Republicans everywhere who aren’t racist, and the Trump cult does not represent everyone who votes Republican. Granted, those people who aren’t falling into line with Trump are increasingly abandoning the Republican Party, but there is a growing rumble in a segment of the Republican electorate for working together. It is a small fraction of the GOP, but it is there.
There were similar switches among Republican voters in Arizona, where Democrats picked up a Senate seat, so it is possible that Espy could be a lot closer in a Senate race where polling has been non-existent.
Without Republicans nominating a full-blown racist, this election would probably already be over.
A win by Mike Espy would be the biggest win of the year, but there are signs that even within the Republican Party in deep red states like Mississippi, the extremism of Trump and his chosen candidates is too much.
Mike Espy is still a long-shot to win on Tuesday, but he is also something that nobody thought they would be saying about a Senate election in Mississippi.
He is a Democrat who has a chance to win.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
