Can Thad Cochran get Democrats to pull him over the finish line?

hotair.com ^ | 6/8/14 | Jazz Shaw

[cotton1706]

After the dust failed to entirely settle following the Mississippi GOP primary, sending us to a runoff between Senator Thad Cochran and state senator Chris McDaniel, Ed had the following to say about Cochran’s prospects.

[Cochran's] inability to best McDaniel last night may have some Mississippi voters who supported the incumbent last night wonder whether it’s better to make a change now that is obviously inevitable, while those few who voted for someone other than the top two finishers are already looking for a Cochran alternative. The runoff will probably still be relatively close, but don’t be surprised to see McDaniel win by more than 51/49, either.

Team Cochran might have been reading Ed’s comments and taken notice. But rather than throwing their hands up in despair, reports indicate that they may have decided to attempt a rather unusual comeback strategy for a primary.

Senator Thad Cochran’s supporters opened Mississippi’s Republican Senate runoff on Wednesday by signaling that they would treat the race like a general election and seek the votes of Democrats and independents during the three-week campaign against State Senator Chris McDaniel.

The only reason this is a possibility is found in the rather free wheeling rules of Mississippi election law. Nobody registers by party, so anyone can vote in the election. The Democrats already have their nominee without the need for a runoff – and they’re highly unlikely to win the general election – so there’s nothing stopping them from voting in the GOP tiebreaker this month. Still, Matt Lewis seems somewhat skeptical.

[centurion316]

The pundit class these days reflects the twitter world that we live in. My brother-in-law, who is one of this ilk, still does it the old fashioned way, precinct by precinct looking at actual votes, turnout rates, demographics, etc. His home state is Louisiana, so he is laughing at some of the silliness.

The engine that turns out the conventional wisdom that passes for news and commentary is driven by twenty somethings who are willing to work long hours for little pay and produce copy for the “names” who put their names to it and sell it at considerable mark up. They’ve gotten lazy.