Posted on 06/25/2014 1:33:38 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Sen. Thad Cochran’s (R-Miss.) primary challenger Chris McDaniel is looking into possible legal routes to challenge Cochran’s runoff win.
Multiple sources tell The Hill that the campaign is evaluating their options after Cochran orchestrated an improbable win over McDaniel on Tuesday night, defeating the challenger by about 6,300 votes.
The campaign’s concerns hinge on heavily African-American Hinds County, which includes the state capital of Jackson and where nearly 70 percent of the residents are black and the voting population is more Democratic than most counties in the state. Cochran netted about 7,000 more votes there in the runoff than the first round of primary voting.
Cochran won the county during the first round of primary voting by a sizable margin, but the significantly increased turnout there this time around helped his lead.
More voters in Hinds County backed Cochran in the runoff — 17,927 — than the total number that turned out in the first round of GOP primary voting (16,640). Turnout increased by about 50 percent from the primary to the runoff, and Cochran expanded his portion of the vote from 66 percent to 72 percent.
That difference of 7,000 more votes than what he netted in the June 4 primary was critical to his slim margin of victory statewide. McDaniel picked up about 1,300 more votes from the primary to the runoff in Hinds County.
McDaniel seemed to hint at the likelihood of a legal challenge in a speech to supporters after the Associated Press called the race for Cochran.
“Before this race is over we have to make absolutely certain the Republican primary was won by Republican voters,” McDaniel said.
“Today the conservative movement took a backseat to liberal Democrats in the state of Mississippi,” said the state senator, adding that “there were literally dozens of irregularities” and “you know why.”
Cochran’s team made no secret of their efforts to turn African American Democratic voters out to the polls in the runoff, but the move drew heavy criticism from conservatives, some of whom have charged such a tactic may be illegal.
Mississippi election law allows Democrats who did not vote in the first primary round to vote in the GOP runoff, but conservatives backing McDaniel have argued the law prevents voters from supporting a candidate in the primary that they don’t plan to back in the general election.
That portion of the law is difficult to enforce, however, so it’s unclear how McDaniel’s campaign will challenge the ballot count.
McDaniel’s team suggested Hinds County GOP Chairman Pete Perry may be at fault.
Perry was paid by pro-Cochran Mississippi Conservatives PAC to conduct unspecified get-out-the-vote efforts for Cochran, a move that raised questions about a potential conflict of interest between Perry’s duties as county GOP chairman and his work for the Cochran campaign.
Perry was later accused by Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Ricky Cole of possibly paying an African-American Democratic political operative thousands of dollars to be used in a vote-buying scheme to turn out African American Democrats for Cochran in the runoff.
When contacted by The Hill, Perry denied any wrongdoing.
“I did not do anything wrong. My party ran the primary. We did not do anything wrong, period,” Perry said, and then hung up the phone abruptly.
“STOP OPEN PRIMARIES, you STUPID REPUBLICANS!!!”
While I agree that primaries should be closed, we both know that the GOP-e wants open primaries. This race is the confirmation of their desire to maintain their positions in the ruling class and that they have absolutely no concern for the citizenry or our individual liberty.
Things such as this could very well lead to something very ugly....
“McDaniel can win in a write-in in November. The blacks that crossed over won’t be back for Cochran then.”
This looks like the perfect scenario for that strategy.
CW, I meant Austin Barbour. In my anger and frustration, I didn’t even say who I was talking about.
You are right about the TEA Party. This make make even more people get themselves to the polls.
And, Republicans attacking Republicans is just shameful. It makes me sick!
State REPUBLICAN Parties better wake up and CLOSE their primaries too. You don’t see Dems doing that.
He can't get his name on the ballot after losing the primary. The options at this point are:
1. Run a write-in campaign.
2. Prove that the election was corrupted and get the results thrown out.
3. Roll over and surrender.
>>You did not obtain the nomination by honest, legitimate and ethical means, but by fraud, deception and chicanery. This is utterly shameful and despicable.<<
This fits Obama too.
Thank you. I did not realize that he could file as an independent.
Running a write-in campaign, it would seem to me, would be a tough proposition since only the very dedicated voter would do that. I know it’s been done successfully, though. I think that senator from Alaska (Muskowski?) pulled it off recently.
I do hope that McDaniel can do the same thing. It’s discouraging having to deal with such unethical people that we have in the Republican Party...we already know the Democrats are totally unethical.
could = could not
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-write-ins-often-turn-into-wasted-votes-/2011/01/16/5247199.htm
No write ins allowed.
Which means I’ll just fail to vote in that particular election. IF I chose to spend $4/gal gas to go to the polls to begin with.
Hope those new GOP voters turn up to vote for Thad in November. Because I certainly won’t.
We have a sore loser law. No independent runs allowed for him at this point.
IMO Chris McDaniel should announce -during his concession speech-the start of his write-in campaign.
He can play the robo call and flyer appeals made by Cochran's campaign to democrat voters- asking them to support Obama by voting for Thad, (and which also express total contempt for the Tea Party). Then McDaniel can say he is running so that the voters who supported him , and anyone else, who wants lower taxes, limited government, (what the Tea Party stands for), exc... has representation in the upcoming November election.
(Or perhaps running as an Independent would be better ?)
In either case-McDaniel needs to stay in for November, if he's up for the campaign, HE CAN WIN.
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