This is only one of many revelations from eleventh-hour fundraising records. According to FEC records, Mike Espy outraised Hyde Smith more than 2-to-1 among large donor in the last stretch. Espy raised more than $460,000 late-hours thanks to wealthy donors outside of the state, such as former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang or actor Emilio Estevez. Espy will need every penny, as Hyde Smith is up eight points in recent polling. However, Democratic insiders expect voter turnout to be far higher than expected. Hyde-Smith received a large portion of her $180,000 cash infusion from political action boards representing corporations and employees. This is in addition to a committee that represents a company which publicly distanced itself after her 2018 comments about “public hanging”. READ MORE: Senator Cindy Hyde Smith ignored advice to improve her image. Now, she is struggling to raise funds in 2020. High-ranking Leidos scientists, who were one of several companies that withdrew support from Hyde-Smith after she made offensive remarks about lynching in 2018, donated eight thousand dollars to the Republican campaign committee. After asking for donations back two years ago, these companies continue to withhold support. Leidos, a company with a significant presence in Mississippi’s Gulf Coast region, issued a Twitter statement at the time noting that the political action committee donation was made prior to the comment being made. FEC records indicate that Roger Krone (who has been Leidos’ chief executive since 2014) donated $2,000 to Senator Hyde-Smith on October 23. This was his first donation. FEC records list James Reagan and Roy Stevens as executive vice presidents of Leidos, who each gave $2,000 that day. According to previous spending disclosures, neither had ever donated directly to Hyde Smith before. According to records, Valerie Baldwin (the company’s top D.C. lobbyist) also gave $2,000 to Hyde Smith last Friday. This was her first direct donation. According to FEC records they were not identified as employees of Leidos, but their addresses match those provided by company officials. In its FEC filing, the Hyde-Smith campaign stated that it had requested additional information on the location of the donors. A Leidos spokesman declined to comment via email. According to FEC records, the senator was presented with a check for $5,000 by Leidos’ political-action committee the day after. Again, the spokesman declined to comment. In the most recent state poll, Hyde Smith was up 8 points. Marvin P. King, Jr., an American politics professor at the University of Mississippi, stated that he wouldn’t be surprised to see other businesses return to Hyde Smith.
King stated that they would return if she wins. King said, “They’ll return if she wins.” Several companies involved in the oil-and-gas industry donated. These included Murphy Oil’s political committee, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, James Lipscomb (the president of Lipscomb Oil), and a PAC representing Kirby Corporation. Kirby Corporation is a tank barge operator that transports crude oil and natural gas up the Mississippi River. The campaign spokesperson for Hyde-Smith did not respond to a request for comment. He wanted to know the full accounting of all fundraising, including small dollar donations. Because the totals do not represent large donations, campaigns are legally required to provide records of all donations exceeding $1,000 received between Oct. 15th and Election Day within 48 hours. In the last stretch of a campaign, smaller donations don’t have to be disclosed. Espy continued to collect cash from outside of the state, however. His opponents have criticized him for not listing Mississippi addresses in 17 of the 276 large contributions he received since Oct. 15. This is a clear indication that Espy has less support here than he does in other states. However, Hyde-Smith has received more than 40% of the 87 large donations he received in this time frame from within Mississippi. Ex-Gov. Mike Pence stated that almost all of the money his campaign raised was from outside Mississippi. Haley Barbour, a Republican, has donated to Hyde Smith. “It’s not Mississippians that are giving their money, it’s Mississippians who are going to vote for the people they give money to,” said Haley Barbour, a Republican who has donated to Hyde-Smith. Sixty-nine percent of Espy’s recent donations came from California, 32 from New York, and 16 from Washington, D.C. These numbers are consistent with the fundraising trends for the race. According to the Center for Responsive Politics records, almost 86% of Espy’s donations were from outside-state entities or people. Only half of Hyde Smith’s contributions came directly from Mississippi residents. After the September death by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Espy’s candidacy became nationalized. Espy’s fundraising was a huge success, with a single-day record for donations, which is the highest ever set by a Mississippi candidate. Hyde Smith outraised Espy 45 to 1 in the first two weeks, but Hyde Smith has been doing better lately. Just Oct. 30, her donations were only half of what she raised in the first two weeks. Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate, and his Humanity Forward PAC were notable donors to Espy in the last two weeks. Yang supported Espy earlier in the month. Richard Ossoff (father of Jon Ossoff in Georgia); Rich Miner, co-founder of Android Inc.; and political committees associated with Terri Sewell and Bobby Scott of Virginia are also on the list. Several individuals in the entertainment and arts industries also helped Espy with last-minute checks. These included the actor Emilio Estevez, Discovery Inc. executive David Leavy, and Christopher Meledandri, Family Guy producer; Despicable Me producers Christopher Meledandri, Shawn Ryan, television screenwriter Shawn Ryan, and Jason Flom, a music executive who signed famous acts such as Katy Perry, Lorde, and Skid Row. Michelle Soon-Shiong is a former MacGyver actresse and philana biotech billionaire Patrick Soon -Shiong. Espy’s spokesperson did not respond when asked to reveal the total fundraising amount, including small-dollar donations. Daniel Newhauser, a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist, has published his work in The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, National Journal, Politico, Roll Call, VICE News, and many other publications. You can find him on Twitter @dnewhauser.