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Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith Tuesday defeated Democrat Mike Espy in the second round of the Mississippi Senate by an unusually small margin in the deep red after turning the contest into a sort of referendum on the racist past of Mississippi with jokes on public hanging and repression of voters.
Hyde-Smith's victory in the second round in the last run of the mid-term elections was far from resounding (54% of the vote, versus 46% for Espy), in a state that President Donald Trump had won by almost 18 points two years ago. The result was a relief for the Republicans, who will have 53 senators against 47 for the Democrats in the new Congress – a gain of two seats.
In the three weeks following polling day, the Mississippi race was defined by Hyde-Smith's comments during the election campaign, including his statement that if a supporter asked him to attend at "a public hanging, I would be in the first row" that has dredged the dark history of racial violence and oppression of the state.
Espy, who would have become the first black state senator since the end of the civil war, earned seven points on the Nov. 6 vote, in which 58 percent of voters backed Hyde-Smith and another top contender. GOP, while 42% voted for Espy (The second round was triggered because no candidate received 50% of the votes).
Part of Espy's momentum can be attributed to energetic black voters, who showed in larger numbers in many areas of the state that three weeks ago, according to exit polls polling stations. And although 60% of the Mississippi population of voting age is white, the state has the largest share of black voters in the country.
Espy explained Hyde-Smith's mistakes and subsequent revelations that she had attended an "academy of segregation" and had celebrated Confederation, thus embarrbading the state.
"This gives our state a black eye that we do not need – it's just a matter of rejuvenating old stereotypes that we do not need anymore," said Espy. about the remarks made by Hyde-Smith during a debate last week.
Read more: & # 39;Another black eye: accusations of racism swirl in the controversial dispute in the Senate
The former Secretary of Agriculture Clinton administration has also done better in the suburbs (full of white college graduates), including outside Memphis and Jackson, whom Barack Obama did in 2008.
GlobalHyde-Smith, the first woman senator in this state, received 87% of the GOP voters who went to the poll three weeks ago, while Espy won an impressive 101% of the Democratic votes by compared to those who voted earlier this month. And this comes after the Republicans have mobilized significant resources to strengthen Hyde-Smith, including several presidential rallies, tweets and an injection of GOP election staff.
The exceptionally competitive Mississippi breed could indicate a favorable trend for Southern Democrats. Espy is the third black Democrat to be on the brink of winning a big game in the South this year, after Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum topping the Florida governorship and governor rankings.
And that comes a year after neighboring Alabama elected its first Democratic senator in a quarter of a century. Notably, the dazzling victory of Alabama Democrat Doug Jones in the last year 's special election was facilitated in part by a significant increase in the electoral turnout of blacks. Black Alabamians accounted for a higher percentage of the electorate in this contest than in 2008 and 2012, when Barack Obama was listed on the ballot. (96% of black voters voted for Jones).
But Jones' opponent, right-wing Republican Roy Roy, was a particularly weak candidate and was partially crushed under the weight of a scandal of badual badaults and a long tradition of Racial animosity.
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