MISSISSIPPI
      Nov. 3, 2020 U.S. Senate                                      

Gov.
 Sen.2
 Sen.1
2023
 x

2022


2021


2020


2019
 x

2018
x
 x
2017


2016


2015
 x

2014
x
2013


2012

x
2011
 x

2010


2009


2008

special
2007


2006


2005


2004


2003


2002


2001


2000


1999


1998


1997


1996


1995


1994


1993


1992


1991


1990


1989



+Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) i
 		709,511
 		54.10%
Mike Espy (D)
 		578,691
 		44.13%
Jimmy L. Edwards 23,152
 		1.77%

1,311,354
Plurality: 130,820 votes (9.97 percentage points)
 MS Secretary of State



Notes:  Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) defeated former Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy (D) to win a full term.  Hyde-Smith was appointed to the seat in April 2018 and elected in a Nov. 2018 special election, defeating Espy in the Nov. 27 runoff.  400,000-plus more Mississippians voted in the Nov. 2020 election than the 2018 runoff.  Hyde-Smith improved upon her margin, going from 7.26 percentage points in 2018 to 9.97 percentage points in 2020.   

Hyde-Smith ran a low-key campaign, raising relatively little money and doing few public events, while Espy's campaign was fully engaged.  Espy won the Mar. 10, 2020 primary with 93 percent of the vote over two other candidates.  COVID then shut things down, and the campaign had a virtual focus for months, before doing safe canvassing and events in the close.  In Aug. 2020 Mississippi Today reported, "Espy has built as large a campaign organization as any statewide Democrat in the state’s history."  Hyde-Smith declined to debate Espy, stating that the differences between them were so stark that, "I don't think a lot of minds would be changed.  According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Hyde-Smith campaign spent just $3.3 million compared to $12.3 million for the Espy campaign (>).


Campaign Managers:
Cindy Hyde-Smith:  Justin Brasell
Owner of Triumph Campaigns in Jackson, MS since Dec. 2010.  In 2018 he managed US. Sen. Roger Wicker's re-election in Mississippi and U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem's campaign for governor in South Dakota.  General consultant on U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany for U.S. Senate in Louisiana, 2016.  Campaign manager on Tom Cotton for Senate 2014.  General consultant on Kristi Noem for Congress 2012. Campaign manager on Tate Reeves for Lt. Governor in Mississippi, 2011. Campaign manager on Friends of John Thune, Jan. 2009-Nov. 2010.  Campaign manager on  McConnell for Senate, July 2007-Nov. 2008.  Chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (KY), Jan. 2005-June 2007, after managing his campaign, Jan. 2003-Dec. 2004.  B.B.A. from University of Mississippi, 1998.
Mike Espy:  Joe O'Hern
(Dec. 2019)  Iowa senior advisor on Cory 2020, Feb.-July 2019.  Directed Ohio Democrats' Coordinated Campaign in the 2018 midterms.  Campaign manager on Nate Boulton's gubernatorial primary campaign in Iowa, 2017-18.  Campaign manager on U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (IA-2)'s re-election, 2016.  Iowa caucus director on O'Malley for President, May 2015-Feb. 2016.  Deputy director/voter contact director of the Iowa Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign for the 2014 cycle.  Midwest regional field director for the DCCC in the 2012 cycle.  Field director on U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell (IA-3)'s 2010 campaign.  O'Hern also ran congressional campaigns in Illinois.

 

See also:
Adam Ganucheau and Bobby Harrison.  "Ep. 135: Mike Espy's campaign manager gives behind-the-scenes look at 2020 Senate race." Mississippi Today, Dec. 7, 2020.

Adam Ganucheau.  "Cindy Hyde-Smith and Republicans test the limits of Mississippi's redness in Senate race against Mike Espy."  Mississippi Today, Nov. 2, 2020.

Luke Ramseth.  "Espy wants a debate, Hyde-Smith doesn't. Will voters get to see the candidates before Nov. 3?"  Clarion-Ledger, Oct. 15, 2020.

Adam Ganucheau.  "The last thing I'm worried about: Sen. Hyde-Smith walks back willingness to debate Espy."  Mississippi Today, Oct. 8, 2020.

Adam Ganucheau.  "Mike Espy has built a historic Senate campaign.  Can he win?"  Mississippi Today, Aug. 25, 2020.


ADVERTISEMENT