Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) defeated former Congressman and Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy (D) in a runoff election Tuesday.
Cindy Hyde-Smith
Spectators likened the Mississippi special election to the 2017 special election in Alabama to fill former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ seat. Though Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) managed to defeat the embattled Republican candidate Roy Moore, Espy couldn’t overtake Hyde-Smith, despite controversial comments and remarks of hers that were reported by the media earlier this month.
Hyde-Smith is the first woman ever elected to Congress from Mississippi. Her victory widens Republicans’ margin in the Senate to 53-47, a net gain of two seats this election cycle.
Gov. Phil Bryant (R) appointed Hyde-Smith to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired earlier this year. She will serve out the remaining two years of his term and will be up for re-election in 2020.
