Open Thread: Runoff – Republican Primary (Mississippi)
[guest post by Dana]
In what CNN dubs the “nation’s ugliest primary”, six-term Mississippi senator Thad Cochran is desperately trying to hold off Tea Party favorite Chris McDaniel in the primary runoff.
The uniqueness of the race has been evidenced in Cochran’s attempts to win support from black voters and unions, as well as reports of insensitive comments on matters of gender and race made by McDaniel. There is a “voter integrity” effort being led by conservative groups that is making news, as well as the NAACP sending out their own poll watchers:
The hard feelings generated by the race were also in evidence, with both conservative groups and the N.A.A.C.P. sending out poll watchers to look for what they considered to be fraud or intimidation. The United States Justice Department also said that it was “aware of concerns about voter intimidation and is monitoring the situation.”
Polls won’t close until 8 pm ET, so no results in yet.
–Dana
You can check results in all of today’s primaries as they come in courtesy of AoSHQ Decision Desk. Thanks to redc1c4 for the tip.
UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Thanks to Dana for opening the thread. In one corner, a Tea Party guy. In the other corner, a clueless old establishment dude who did weird things with animals and doesn’t quite seem to know who Eric Cantor was. AoSHQ called it for the Tea Partier last time. What will happen tonight?
UPDATE BY PATTERICO x2: Uh-oh. AoSHQDD just called it for Cochran, a minute ago.
here’s hoping that the Cochran breaks tonight…
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:30 pmresults, updates, etc, courtesy of AoSHQDD
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:31 pmor their twitter feed @AoSHQDD
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:33 pmIf the GOP makes Mississippi its bellwether, it deserves everything it gets. It’s not representative of anything good about America.
nk (dbc370) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:47 pmmeanwhile, in the Florida 19 race, the demonrat got murdalized…. running right now at slightly less than 30% of the votes counted.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:50 pmRepost from another thread 6/24/2014 @ 3:31 pm: (with additions in brackets)
Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/24/2014 @ 3:21 pm:
Thad’s strategy is to get Democrats [who didn’t already vote in the Dem primary] to vote in the GOP runoff. If he wins, it will be because Democrats, particularly black Democrats, chose him.
There’s no party registration in Mississippi.
[Thad Cochran actually lost the first primary by a narrow margin, but because 50% is required to win, there was a runoff. A third candidate got around 1% or 1 1/2% I think. In the normal course of events, the challenger would probably pick up some. Thad Cochran needs to have people who are otherwise Democrats comprise some 10% to 15% of the electorate to be safe]
How the national party can go along with that is a mystery to me, and I don’t have a dog in this race.
If that was a problem, then the election of any Republican in Louisiana and California is a problem. Not to mention the re-election of Lisa Murkowski in Alaska.
Thad would be far more compromised than before.
He has to win the general election anyway. [He probably also is not going to run again]
National parties generally don’t care how somebody got elected to the Senate, just so long as they caucus with them in Congress.
Sammy Finkelman (9257c5) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:53 pmredc1c4,
I just added to the update that all of today’s primary results can be found at the AoSHQDD link.
Dana (fe2228) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:54 pmVal-U-Rite for everyone!!!!
and help yourself to some hobo jerky while you’re at it!
😎
redc1c4, moron in good standing (abd49e) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:56 pm#4: nk, i’m confused as to why getting rid of a useless big government RINO from the Senate isn’t a good thing.
please expound on what makes you think otherwise, ’cause i got nothing.
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/24/2014 @ 4:58 pmIf this country makes a comeback, it will be the South that shows the path to reconstruction.
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:01 pmMeghan’s no-account coward daddy says vote for Thad
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:03 pmMeanwhile, in New York City, Congressman Charles Rangel is running for he second time since he was censured in Congress, and has the same main opponent he had in 2012.
His district is not majority black any more, and doesn’t even have a black plurality. The bggest group is Hispanics of various kinds, one big new kind being Dominicans. (Rangel is actually half-Hispanic himself – the name Rangel come from a Puerto Rican father who abandoned his mother, IIRC) but Rangel doesn’t speak Spanish although he may have started to learn it half a dozen times.
About 24% of the voters in the district are expected to be white.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/19/nyregion/struggle-in-rangels-district-for-the-votes-of-a-crucial-minority-whites.html
It’s grown because of reapportionment, the larger size of the district – you know they are trying to squeeze 4 districts, or at least 3 into Manhattan and Manhattan has barely got room enough for 2 now) and gentrification.
It is interesting that Charles Rangel, representing Harlem, of all members of Congress, is not able to rely on the Voting Rights Act to save him from the hazards of reapportionment.
Sammy Finkelman (9257c5) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:08 pmhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/us/politics/thad-cochran-chris-mcdaniel-mississippi-senate-primary.html?_r=0
Sammy Finkelman (9257c5) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:10 pm#4: nk, i’m confused as to why getting rid of a useless big government RINO from the Senate isn’t a good thing.
please expound on what makes you think otherwise, ’cause i got nothing.
That’s not what I said, red. I said that I don’t like Mississippi, and the GOP, the national GOP, will be in big trouble if it sheds any tears over whatever happens there, because it’s not representative of anything to be proud of.
nk (dbc370) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:24 pmGrand ole mitty will be parade partners with rino brown in N.H.
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:35 pmGod help us.
According to his opponent, Thad Cochran is a sheepeffer.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:36 pmMeghan’s no-account coward daddy says vote for Thad
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:03 pm
If I were in MS, that would seal the deal for me – Vote McDaniel!
askeptic (8ecc78) — 6/24/2014 @ 5:46 pmmg #15,
The lack of logic in your cutesy little aspersion against both Mitt Romney and Scott Brown is mind-boggling.
In the New Hampshire Senate general election, the voters are not going to be given a choice between Scott Brown vs a more conservative Ronald Reagan, rather they will be given a choice between Scott Brown vs a left wing lunatic Jeanne Shaheen.
New Hampshire is not Texas, it’s not Wyoming, and it’s not Utah.
Scott Brown may be the most conservative Senator who New Hampshire voters will be willing to elect. And in Federalism, that’s just how the ball bounces.
Some of you guys who consider yourselves to be “pure” conservatives actually have a lot in common with the far left because you both seek a perfect utopia—and you get angry when it doesn’t come to fruition.
In life, we are often faced with a menu of less-than-perfect, or sometimes even bad choices on the menu—yet we still must choose one of the paths.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:01 pmNot too many people have ever scored a perfect job, perfect spouse, perfect house, perfect car, perfect health plan, perfect retirement plan, perfect pair of shoes, or poured a perfect martini.
Why you would then expect to score a perfect politician is beyond my pay grade.
i have a perfect martini in the frig as we speak:
a cold bottle of good vodka.
😎
redc1c4 (abd49e) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:15 pmI voted for brown and mitt, numerous times Elephant Stone, even worked for brown, many hours after work for weeks.
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:25 pmSorry, but i feel i have paid my dues to make wise ass remarks about the creeps I end up voting for. And I will probably end up voting for your fella mitt, friend juan, etc.,etc. But I will bitch and moan all the way because they are not what they say they are.
If brown does not win, it will be because he has never been clear on the winning issue for the conservatives- The 2nd Amendment.
this is very very bad
the whore republican establishment
not just Meghan’s coward whore brainwashed daddy
every last one of them gay-bashin fetus-lovin amnesty-cravin fat-ass whore white boy chambermaid Republicans
they is on their own
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:33 pmmg,
You can make whatever comments you like—but please make sure you still get to the voting booth on Election Day and choose the lesser of two evils.
Elephant Stone (6a6f37) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:36 pmWhen we abstain from voting, we hand victory to the Left on a silver platter.
In a perfect world, I would vote for Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan in every election.
But it’s rare to find someone like that on any ballot. Anywhere.
smflmao, happyfeet.
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:38 pmCan McDaniel run as an independent? Is Cochran aware that he won?
Gazzer (6a76d0) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:40 pmElephant Stone – don’t you worry about me. It’s the happyfeet we need to get to the booth…
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:41 pmthat cochran robocall the p wizzles have up is pretty much about all i can take of this whole “Republican Party” thing
is no bueno
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:44 pmMississippi. Where the men are men and teh sheep are nervous.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:46 pmThe sheep were close to being free.
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:47 pmUPDATE BY PATTERICO: Thanks to Dana for opening the thread. In one corner, a Tea Party guy. In the other corner, a clueless old establishment dude who did weird things with animals and doesn’t quite seem to know who Eric Cantor was. AoSHQ called it for the Tea Partier last time. What will happen tonight?
Patterico (9c670f) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:50 pmNot looking good for the good guys at this particular moment…
Patterico (9c670f) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:52 pmVirgin Wool: unusually fast running sheep.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:56 pmUPDATE BY PATTERICO x2: Uh-oh. AoSHQDD just called it for Cochran, a minute ago.
Patterico (9c670f) — 6/24/2014 @ 6:58 pmMississippi Queen, You know what I mean
Mississippi Queen, She taught me everything
Went down around Vicksburg, around Louisiana way
Where lived the Cajun Lady, aboard the Mississippi Queen
You know she was a dancer. She moved better on wine
While the rest of them dudes were gettin’ their licks
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:03 pmBoy, I beg your pardon, I was gettin’ mine
Cash Money
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:09 pmHomey Bloomberg
My Friend Juan
old man thad cochran
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:14 pmhe done made them ol’ sheep run
under the hot Sun
In life, we are often faced with a menu of less-than-perfect, or sometimes even bad choices on the menu—yet we still must choose one of the paths.
I can totally relate to where you’re coming from because no less than this very message board on various occasions has non-liberals (or I’ll even characterize them as right-leaning types) who will exhibit bits and pieces of squish-squish-squish, some of it popping up in surprising ways. When I see the way people think — or emote — here, and when I look at various opinion polls going back years, I sure as hell don’t have too much confidence in predicting how the public will react (or think or emote) when it goes into a voting booth and plucks a chad or pulls a lever.
Squish, squish, squish: It’s a fact of life.
Mark (fdb0fc) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:19 pmAt the WaPo, you can track updates. As of 5 minutes ago, precincts counted: 1,630 of 1,832.
Dana (fe2228) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:22 pmSo, it’s come to this. Six term incumbent wins primary by paying black dems to vote, possibly illegally. The Grand Experiment slowing dying out in a whimper.
Gazzer (6a76d0) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:42 pmhaley haley
mg (31009b) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:46 pmballot box
super load
IN my opinion neither of these candidates are “good”. Cochran is a sclerotic old fool and definitely should have retired rather than run again. But I’m not all that impressed with McDaniel who doesn’t seem ready for prime time, and I think this hurt him with some voters.
elissa (0b3bcd) — 6/24/2014 @ 7:46 pmSammy, I’m not sure how I feel about you crossposting my comment from another thread. Pretty sure I’d be annoyed it it was edited.
Kevin M (b357ee) — 6/24/2014 @ 8:21 pmhere is a list of the people such as Meghan’s geriatric cowardwhore daddy what endorsed the addled half-wit
at the link there’s also a list of people what endorsed the other guy
it’s fun to compare and contrast
so so fun
happyfeet (8ce051) — 6/24/2014 @ 8:26 pmwell the whigs (on both shores) and the liberal party in the UK, tried to be all things to all men, and ended up being nothing to all,
narciso (3fec35) — 6/24/2014 @ 8:34 pmHas anyone told him he won yet?
Gazzer (6a76d0) — 6/24/2014 @ 8:36 pmR.I.P. Eli Wallach
Icy (c5d6fc) — 6/24/2014 @ 10:11 pmThe good thing is that they won’t be able to blame the TEA Party for costing the GOP control of the Senate, at least in MS.
askeptic (8ecc78) — 6/24/2014 @ 10:49 pmMcDaniel would have won handily the first time if not for the nursing home scandal. He handled it very poorly. That damaged his credibility and cost him votes – not among his core supporters, but with the undecideds who might have gone his way for a conservative change.
My sources in Mississippi tell me the difference was higher Republican turnout, there wasn’t any big movement in black precincts – and what there was was more in reaction to whatever out of state bonehead decided to announce they were sending “poll watchers” to the black areas. In Mississippi, anyone is free to observe, but official poll watchers must be appointed by the candidate (or party for the general election) and only they can challenge ballots.
Estragon (ada867) — 6/24/2014 @ 10:51 pmMeanwhile there was another bad loss in NY-22, and the wrong person won in OK as well. Were there any good results yesterday?
Milhouse (b95258) — 6/25/2014 @ 1:45 amThe Wall Street Journal’s “Best of the Web” has gone behind the paywall, as of June 23, and on the same day the New York Daily News raised its street price from 75 cents to $1.25, leapfrogging the New York Post, which is now at $1.00 (I didn’t notice the price had changed until the New York Post decided to make a big deal out of it on Tuesday – and it again did this oday.)
Meanwhile I saw a copy of Newsweek for sale. It seems to be mostly pictures, now.
Sammy Finkelman (d22d64) — 6/25/2014 @ 2:53 pmYour sources are just like you, full of it. Cochran stole the election with bribes and threats to black Democrats. The facts are in and they pprove you lied.
njrob (2f4947) — 6/25/2014 @ 4:13 pm