2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi

2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi

← 2014 November 6, 2018 (first round)
November 27, 2018 (runoff)
2020 →
Turnout48.14%
 
Candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith Mike Espy Chris McDaniel
Party Republican Democratic Republican
First round 389,995
41.25%
386,742
40.90%
154,878
16.38%
Runoff 486,769
53.63%
420,819
46.37%
Eliminated

Hyde-Smith:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Espy:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
McDaniel:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Bartree:      20–30%
Tie:      40–50%      50–60%

U.S. senator before election

Cindy Hyde-Smith[a]
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Cindy Hyde-Smith
Republican

The 2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi took place on November 6, 2018, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Mississippi. On April 1, 2018, a U.S. Senate vacancy was created when Republican senator Thad Cochran resigned due to health concerns.[1] Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant appointed Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the vacancy.[2] Hyde-Smith sought election to serve the balance of Cochran's term, which was scheduled to expire in January 2021.[3]

On November 6, 2018, per Mississippi law, a nonpartisan top-two special general election took place on the same day as the regularly scheduled U.S. Senate election for the seat then held by Roger Wicker. Party affiliations were not printed on the ballot.[4] Because no candidate gained a simple majority of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates, Hyde-Smith and Mike Espy,[5] was held on November 27, 2018. Hyde-Smith defeated Espy, 53.63%-46.37%.[6][7]

The victory made Hyde-Smith the first woman ever elected to Congress from Mississippi.[8]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Jacobs, Ben (March 5, 2018). "Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran announces he is stepping down". the Guardian. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  2. ^ Eric Bradner; Kaitlan Collins; Ashley Killough (March 20, 2018). "Governor picks Cindy Hyde-Smith to replace Cochran". CNN.
  3. ^ "U.S. Chamber poll shows Cindy Hyde-Smith leading Mike Espy, Chris McDaniel in Senate race". Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Rakich, Nathaniel (March 6, 2018). "How Things Could Go Wrong For Republicans In Mississippi's New Senate Race". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Latest: Mississippi has 3 more weeks of US Senate race". AP NEWS. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  6. ^ "2018 Elections Calendar – Mississippi Secretary of State" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  7. ^ "Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith Wins Mississippi Senate Runoff". Bloomberg.com. November 28, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  8. ^ Pappas, Alex (May 30, 2019). "Longtime Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran dead at 81". Fox News. Retrieved April 14, 2023.