Espy, who was a former Democratic congressman, and U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Bill Clinton raised $215,000 between January 1 and February 19. Hyde-Smith (the GOP incumbent who defeated Espy during a contentious 2018 special-election runoff) raised $171,000 during the same period. Joe O’Hern (Espy’s campaign manager) said, “We are proud and excited about the incredible grassroots support for Mike’s Campaign.” “With more than 6,000 people already donating to the campaign, it’s clear that there is excitement and energy early on. Although Sen. Hyde Smith has low approval ratings, Mike is polling within the single digits of her. It is clear that voters want a change in Mississippi.” Espy will face two Democratic primary challengers March 10, while Hyde Smith is uncontested in Republican primary. Hyde-Smith has a greater than $500,000 cash advantage to Espy despite being outraised in the latest filing report. Justin Brasell, Hyde-Smith campaign spokesperson, said that “we’ve had very successful fundraisers all over the state in this week that weren’t reflected in report.” “We are happy with where we are now and where we will be for the entire first quarter to March 31.” Hyde-Smith has raised less money than the 96 current U.S. senators since the 2020 cycle started. Last year, the three senators with lower fundraising totals than Hyde Smith — Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas and Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee — declared that they will not be seeking re-election in 2020. Hyde-Smith’s difficulties in raising cash this cycle could be a result of the 2018 campaign controversy. Hyde Smith made several comments on the trail, including a comment that she would attend a “public hang,” which attracted national attention and inspired many corporations, including AT&T, Union Pacific and Aetna to ask Hyde Smith to return previous contributions. After the public release of the previous reports, Hyde-Smith’s campaign downplayed the low funding marks. Tobey Bartee, Jensen Bohren, and Jensen Bohren, the Democratic challengers to Espy have not submitted a single financial report to the Federal Election Commission. Espy’s candidacy will be again a focus of national attention and a flood of national cash if he wins the primary. Espy raised $7.5million in 2018, compared to Hyde-Smith’s $5.5 million. He became the first Democrat to raise more than a Republican opponent in several statewide elections. In late 2019, Tom Perez, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told Mississippi Today that the party would invest in Mississippi for its third consecutive election year.