Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith won Mississippi's Senate runoff race on Tuesday, giving the Republicans one more win in the U.S. Senate after she defeated Democrat Mike Espy, according to Politico.
Hyde-Smith received widespread criticism during the runoff campaign for making several racist remarks, but still won 56 percent of the vote against Espy's 44 percent when the Associated Press called the race for the Republican with 75 percent of the precincts reporting.
The GOP will now hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate beginning in January.
Hyde-Smith also became the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in the Senate, but she will have to run for a full term again in 2020 since she was first appointed to fill Thad Cochran's seat earlier this year.
Espy, a former congressman and Agriculture Secretary during the administration of President Bill Clinton, was able to forge a strong challenge to Hyde-Smith with Democrats hoping for another narrow victory similar to the special Alabama Senate election last year.
Espy said the "public hanging" comments were a "black eye" for the state of Mississippi.
Hyde-Smith faced a barrage of criticisms after commenting she would attend a "public hanging" in the state, calling to mind the racist history of Jim Crow's influence in Mississippi.
The comments also prompted several major companies to request their donations to her campaign to be refunded.
Austin Barbour, a veteran Republican strategist who has managed statewide campaigns in Mississippi, told Politico she should have apologized sooner for the comments, especially since she initially declined to apologize.
Hyde-Smith eventually apologized to "anyone offended" by the remarks.
“I know she said it, she regrets what she said and obviously that statement gave Espy a better chance to win,” Barbour said.
Barbour also noted sine President Donald Trump visited two rallies to support Hyde-Smith signaled the national Republicans were not taking the race for granted after Alabama.
President Trump defended Hyde-Smith to reporters before departing for the rallies on Monday: "I know her. And I know she apologized. And she misspoke. She's been an excellent senator. She's done a great job. She's somebody that's respected in the Senate."
"As the president said, a vote for Cindy Hyde-Smith is a vote for me," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Tuesday night. "Mr. President, I know you may be watching. We just voted for you."
"While this is not the result we were hoping for, I am proud of the historic campaign we ran and grateful for the support we received across Mississippi," Espy said in a statement. "We built the largest grassroots organization our state has seen in a generation, through a coalition of voters who shared our belief that Mississippi's future will be brighter than our past."
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Rogelio V. Solis