Democrats hope for upset in Senate race in GOP stronghold of Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. — The special election for a U.S. Senate seat in deeply conservative Mississippi wasn’t supposed to be competitive. But hopeful Democrats are eyeing a narrow path to victory this week by driving up African American turnout after Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith stirred outrage with her remark to a supporter that she would attend a “public hanging” with him if he asked.
While Hyde-Smith apologized during a debate Tuesday night, opponents say she’s at least unconsciously echoing the state’s history of white supremacy, and civil rights groups have seized the moment to push black voters to the polls. Democratic presidential hopefuls New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and California Sen.