Conservative Vs Moderate in the Mississippi Senate Election | New policies

By JEFF AMY, Partner press

MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) – The two US Senate candidates in Mississippi rallied their supporters around their conservative and moderating themes Sunday as they entered the final days of their campaign.

The last two years of the Senate term begun by Thad Cochran, now retired, are on hold as voters vote between US Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy, former secretary. American Agriculture who seeks to become the first black deputy of the Mississippi senator since Reconstruction. This is the last race in the US Senate to be decided in 2018 and it will determine whether Republicans will add to their slim majority.

Backed by US Republican Senator Iowa Joni Ernst, Hyde-Smith met with Republican loyalists at the Meridian Museum on Sunday afternoon.

"It's not just my name on the ballot, it's our conservative values ​​that are on the ballot Tuesday," Hyde-Smith told dozens of supporters. "I can not emphasize how important it is to get everyone you know to vote for."

A few blocks east of Mississippi, Democrat Mike Espy spoke to a mostly African-American crowd in a Masonic lodge.

"I'm going to be the senator for everyone," said Espy.

Espy was introduced by Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat who will join Congress next year after overthrowing an outgoing president. Later Sunday, at a conference call for the Espy campaign, US Democrat Senator Doug Jones of Alabama told Mississippi voters that Espy could help cut back on divisions. partisan.

The events came after President Donald Trump again tweeted his support for Hyde-Smith, calling him a "remarkable person" the day before he planned to campaign with her. This will be Trump's second visit to Mississippi on behalf of the senator since October.

Trump and Hyde-Smith are expected to appear together Monday in the city of Tupelo, in the northeast of the country, better known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Then they fly to the Gulf Coast for a rally in Biloxi.

Trump tweeted about the race at least twice on Sunday. "Mississippi, vote for @cindyhydesmith Tuesday Respected by all, we need her in Washington!" Thank you! he wrote.

The president also touted Monday's rallies, adding that Hyde-Smith "is a remarkable person who is strong on the border, crime, the army, our great veterans, health care and the 2nd A. Needed at DC "

Some of the same people who worked on Jones' 2017 campaign in Alabama are now working on Espy. Jones did what Espy is trying to do: win as a Democrat in a Republican-dominated conservative state. Jones said that he was "an independent voice for the state of Alabama," and that Espy would be the same for Mississippi.

"I need that voice of moderation with me and our caucus," Jones said.

Ernst, in Iowa, has meanwhile focused on topics such as low taxes, a strong economy, higher military spending and preventing migrants from illegally entering the country .

"We think it's a good idea to protect our homeland, is not it?" Ernst asked.

In the last weeks of the campaign, racing has become a dominant problem. Espy is committed to bringing his experience of "diversity" and "inclusion" to work, qualities that he believes are lacking in his white Republican opponent. Hyde-Smith had several difficulties defending herself after the photo of her wearing a replica of the Confederate soldier's hat, as well as a video of it praising a supporter by announcing that she was in danger. Would sit at the forefront of a suspended audience with him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will not be coming back," said Espy to his supporters, criticizing Hyde-Smith's apology for the hung remarks.

"When you apologize to someone, look at him in the eyes," Espy said. "She read these excuses and I saw her doing that."

The race should lead to a higher participation rate than usual during a second round in Mississippi. More than 43,000 postal ballots have been requested, and this number may increase as the final numbers are compiled. Approximately 69,000 postal ballots were requested before the November 6 elections, which registered the highest number of votes in any non-presidential election in Mississippi. There is usually a decrease in the number of votes cast between the first election and the second round.

Mississippi elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1982.

Emily Wagster Pettus, Associated Press writer, contributed to Jackson, Mississippi.

For full coverage of US mid-term elections by AP: http://apne.ws/APPolitics. Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.

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