Espy stated that he represented him on a part of the Ivory Coast Cocoa Commission. This was partly to try and stabilize the tenure for the gentleman who thought he had won. However, when I discovered later that he had lost, based upon the contract I had and the things he’d done, Espy terminated the contract. Espy replied, “Yes, I could have renewed the three-month contract.” I didn’t.” Republican interim senator Cindy Hyde Smith, who will face Espy in a Nov. 27, runoff, has criticised Espy for his work for Ivory Coast. Based on a Fox News report, Espy has claimed that Espy was untruthful about how much money he received for the work. Espy was asked questions about the lobbying scandal for the first-time at a “women’s for Espy” event held in Jackson. According to his campaign, Espy had cancelled the contract following the chaos and unrest in the country. Hyde-Smith had brought up the topic to distract attention from her remarks about being open to sitting front row at a public hang if invited to by a supporter. Later, while speaking at Mississippi State University she made a joke about suppressing liberal votes at “other schools in the state”. Hyde-Smith released a statement regarding the hanging comment, stating that it was an exaggerated expression in regard. However, she has not responded to questions. In a prepared statement, she said that she was laughing with students at MSU and did not intend to cause any harm by her voting comments. Espy stated that he was willing to represent the country in an effort to stabilize the cocoa price worldwide during civil war. This was partly because Espy was friends with the Cocoa Commission’s head from his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in early 1990s. Fox News reports that Espy said he cancelled the contract due to unrest after receiving $400,000 from a $750,000 contract. Fox quotes documents from the U.S. Department of Justice Foreign Agents Registration Act indicating that Espy was paid the entire amount. Espy claimed that he completed the documents himself. After Gbagbo refused his request to resign, the country was plunged into civil war. He claimed that Gbagbo’s political opponent had won fraudulently. Gbagbo is currently facing criminal charges at The Hague international court. He is accused of crimes of murder, rape, and torture. Hyde-Smith was appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant was appointed to replace Thad Cochran (long-time senator), who resigned for health reasons. Espy and Phil Bryant are both involved in the runoff, since neither received a majority of votes on Nov 6. Espy campaigned at the Jackson State – Alcorn State football match at Lorman on Saturday. According to the Associated Press, Hyde-Smith was supposed to campaign at the Louisiana State Southern Miss football game in Hattiesburg. However, he canceled due to debate preparations. Hyde-Smith is scheduled to debate Espy Tuesday night. The debate will be broadcast live on NBC stations across the country and on MPB television. Also, it was announced Saturday morning by President Donald Trump that he would be in Tupelo on Monday to campaign for Hyde Smith. Mississippi Today has the complete coverage of the historic runoff election between Cindy Hyde Smith and Mike Espy.