What Went Down In The Mississippi Senate Runoff Election

Nate, one might think Chris McDaniel would want to take another shot at the Senate after falling just short in 2014 and then losing again three weeks ago. But it seems he has his eye on running for governor next year.

Small counties can sometimes produce odd results, and tiny Benton County (1,901 votes) on the Tennessee border is a good example. On Nov. 6, it went for the GOP candidates in the special election by 17 points. But Espy just won it by 3 points, a 20-point swing. But in the process, it matched 86 percent of the first-round Democratic vote but only 58 percent of the Nov. 6 Republican vote.

One of my other big takeways from tonight — whether it’s a narrow Espy or (more likely) a modest Hyde-Smith win, is that Republicans probably ought to primary her. Republicans have three current U.S. Reps in Mississippi, all in completely safe districts, plus Gov. Bryant, who is term-limited.