Dixie GOPer beats back Tea revolt
WASHINGTON — Backed by a late surge of black voters, Sen. Thad Cochran unexpectedly held off a challenge by Tea Party stalwart Chris McDaniel in a bruising Mississippi Republican primary.
Cochran, 76, stepped up his effort to hold onto his seat after he finished second to McDaniel, a state senator, in a June 3 GOP primary that led to Tuesday’s runoff vote.
With 99% of precincts reporting, Cochran had 51% of the vote to McDaniel’s 49%.
Cochran thanked those who helped him secure a “great victory,” adding: “We all have a right to be proud of our state tonight.”
The contest was the latest election pitting a GOP establishment figure against a Tea Party-backed upstart.
Cochran, a former Democrat, rallied to victory behind votes from overwhelmingly Democratic African-American voters north of the state capital of Jackson. They were allowed to vote in the Republican runoff.
Black turnout broke prior records for those precincts.
Cochran is a longtime top member of the Senate Appropriations Committee whose record of using earmarks to bring home money to his state was ripped by McDaniel.
In the runoff fight, Cochran shifted his campaign message from trumpeting conservative achievements to touting his record of bringing home federal dollars to Mississippi.
Ronnie Wilson, 50, of Hattiesburg, told The Associated Press his pastor encouraged him to vote for Cochran.
“They say the other guy is trying to cut food stamps and all that,” Wilson said. “I’m trying to look after the majority of people not working.”