/Republican sweep in Mississippi, again

Republican sweep in Mississippi, again

The incumbent U.S. Senator from Mississippi is re-elected. Tuesday’s re-election saw the re-election of Rep. Trent Kelly and Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Gregg Harper, and Rep. Steven Palazzo. The incumbent justice Jim Kitchens, a judge on the state Supreme Court, defeated Kenny Griffis (a judge on the court of appeals). The two candidates’ campaigns spent almost $1 million on the race, which is the highest spending for any state campaign this year. Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam defeated Michael Shareef to a seat on the Southern District Supreme Court. In a runoff election for the Northern District Supreme Court seat that was vacated by Justice Ann Lamar, Circuit Court Judge Bobby Chamberlin and John Brady will be held in two weeks. They defeated Steve Crampton Jr. and James “Jim” Kitchens Jr. NBC News and other media outlets projected Trump’s victory in Mississippi seconds after polls close at 7 p.m. The race was called by the Associated Press 10 minutes prior to 8 p.m. Trump had been in Mississippi three times since he declared his candidacy in 2015. He visited the state once in January for a rally, once in Madison in March and once in August for a fundraiser dinner and rally in Jackson. Trump’s support in Mississippi was strengthened by the support of many GOP statewide officials. Gov. Phil Bryant was a national Trump surrogate. He stumped in many states over recent weeks and served as the chief Mississippi fundraiser. As the head of Mississippi Women for Trump, Lynn Fitch, State Treasurer, was also involved. Cindy Hyde Smith, Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner, was a member of the Trump campaign’s agricultural advisory board. Since 1976, Mississippi hasn’t been won by a Democratic presidential nominee. Clinton, the Democratic nominee for this year’s nomination, has not campaigned in Mississippi since 1976, when Jimmy Carter was elected as president. While the state Democratic Party did not spend much money on Clinton’s election, it hosted a few rallies and fundraisers over the past year. In each of the four Congressional races, incumbents faced little opposition in terms of funding and name recognition. Kelly defeated Jacob Owens and Chase Wilson. Thompson beat John Bouie and Troy Ray. Harper defeated Roger Gerrard and Dennis Quinn. Palazzo beat Richard Blake McCluskey, Shawn O’Hara and Mark Gladney.