Mississippi Black Voters Give Primary Victory To Republican Senator

In case you hadn't been following the Republican primary in Mississippi for US senate, it was this year's most interesting election.

In Mississippi's May primary election, neither of the two principal Republican candidates for senate, incumbent Thad Cochran, who was running for his seventh term, or challenger Chris McDaniel, his Tea Party challenger, received 50% of the vote. Mississippi is one of only eight states in the union that requires a runoff election in such a case. (North Carolina is one of the eight, but NC sets the thresh hold at 40%).

Mississippi is also a state that allows any registered voter to vote in any party's primary. That set the stage for what followed.

Thad Cochran openly courted the votes of democrats, including African Americans, and they turned out in droves.

Why would African Americans vote for a Republican? They saw it as in their own interest. Why would unionized shipyard workers in Pascagoula vote for a Republican? Same reason.

Not only did Thad Cochran's organization reach out to Democrats (only those who had not voted in the Democratic primary could vote in the Republican runoff), Chris McDaniel had alarmed them with his calls for austerity, his vicious attacks on President Obama, and his open embrace of Mississippi's past. “It’s time to defend our way of life again,” McDaniel asserted.

This year's fiftieth anniversary of Mississippi Freedom Summer and the killing of civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner reminded any who had forgotten, just how Mississippi defended its "way of life" in times past.

Mississippi's African American voters are among the most sophisticated in the country. They understand that elections are about their interests, and they weren't interested in having a US senator openly talking about "defending our way of life" again.

Not so long ago, such talk got Mississippi senator Trent Lott in trouble.

There may have been other issues in play. Veterans in Mississippi liked McDaniels' belligerent talk about war. Apparently few of them had any idea that Thad Cochran had served in the military. In fact, I met Thad Cochran at the University of Mississippi when we were both in the Naval ROTC there.

Interestingly, both Thad Cochran and Trent Lott had been cheerleaders at Ole Miss.

I don't expect African American voters to turn out for Thad Cochran in the general election. Their interests would be better served by a democrat in that office. But realistically a democratic victory is unlikely.

Mississippi is more complicated than people give it credit for.