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'Another black eye': Accusations of racism swirl in contentious Mississippi Senate runoff
Racially insensitive comments have tightened the Senate race in Mississippi, a state with a long and dark history of racial violence and oppression.
Divisive, racialized comments have tightened the US Senate race in Mississippi, a state with a long and dark history of racial violence and oppression.
The remarks, made by Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, became a flashpoint in a contentious debate on Tuesday night in the last major race of the midterms, which — like many others in the Senate — favors a Trump-endorsed candidate in a deep red state.
Hyde-Smith has recently come under fire for remarks she's made that many have interpreted as racially insensitive.
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Earlier this month, a liberal blogger released a video showing Hyde-Smith e"If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row."
Hyde-Smith refused to apologize in her response to the widespread criticism, saying "any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous."
More black people were lynched in Mississippi than in any other state in the nation between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
Hyde-Smith also sparked controversy this month when another video emerged in which she told supporters that GOP efforts to
"There's a lot of liberal folks in those other schools who that maybe we don't want to vote. Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult," Hyde-Smith saysin a videoreportedly taken on Nov. 3. Her campaign later said the footage was "selectively edited" and the comment was a "joke."
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Mississippi is home to several historically black colleges and universities — and Republicans across the country have pushed measures that make it more difficult for college students to vote. The NAACP filed a lawsuit last month charging that a majority white county in Texas intentionally limited early voting on campus at historically black college, to disenfranchise young black voters, who overwhelmingly support Democrats.
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The voter suppression "joke" struck a particular nerve during midterm elections in which, on the one hand, there have been accusations of systematic disenfranchisement, and on the other, unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. Both have played a central role in escalating partisan divisions undermining public trust in the country's electoral process.
And on Tuesday, a 2014 Facebook post surfaced showing Hyde-Smith posing in a Confederate hat at the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library. She commented on the post: "Mississippi history at its best!"
Espy has condemned Hyde-Smith's comments and called her "a walking stereotype who embarrasses our state" and during Tuesday's debate said she had "
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Espy jumped on Hyde-Smith's defense, arguing that the remarks spoke for themselves.
Both Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to replace retiring Sen. Thad Cochran last April, and Espy, who served as agriculture secretary in the Clinton administration, received just over 40 percent of the vote in the Nov. 6 race, while a third candidate, far-right Republican Chris McDaniel received 16 percent of the vote in a deep red state that Trump won by nearly 18 points.
While most observers believe Hyde-Smith will pull out ahead next Tuesday, some private polling has shown the race narrow to single digits, with the Republican ahead by just five points.
Perhaps in a sign of Republicans' concern about Hyde-Smith's ability to defend herself, Republican Roger Wicker — Mississippi's senior senator — was sent out to answer reporters' questions after the debate, even though Espy answered his own post-debate questions.
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