Mississippi’s U.S. Senate contest heading to runoff

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s U.S. Senate runoff will attract money from interest groups the next three weeks. But the partisan balance of the Senate is already decided, and that decreases the intensity of the fight.

Voters will choose Nov. 27 between Republican Cindy Hyde-smith and Democrat Mike Espy, who advanced from a field of four candidates Tuesday. The winner gets the final two years of a six-year term.

Hyde-smith has served in the Senate since April, when longtime Sen. Thad Cochran retired. Gov. Phil Bryant appointed her to serve temporarily until this month’s special election is resolved.

Espy was elected to the U.S. House in 1986 and served as agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1994.

As of Wednesday, political action committees had spent about $1.8 million to support Hyde-smith and roughly the same to support Espy, according to The Campaign Finance Institute, a nonprofit group that evaluates money in politics.

Espy said in a news release Wednesday that he is challenging Hyde-smith to three debates before the runoff.

“Public discourse is important, now more than ever, and Mississippians deserve to hear our views and understand where we differ, whether it’s on health care, education, or job opportunities,” Espy wrote in a letter to her. “The stakes are just too high.”