Cochran wins runoff; McDaniel refuses to concede, plans challenge

Thad Cochran has won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate for the seventh time, squeaking past challenger Chris McDaniel in a runoff Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

But McDaniel didn't concede Tuesday night and in a speech to supporters referenced "dozens of irregularities" in voting Tuesday and indicated he would challenge the results over Democrats voting in the Republican primary.

Cochran led McDaniel 51 percent to 49 percent, in a turnout that spiked from 319,000 voters in the June 3 primary to more than 360,000 for Tuesday's runoff. He will face former U.S. Rep Travis Childers, a Democrat, in the November general election.

Cochran thanked supporters and said, "This is your victory."

"What we have reflected here tonight is a consensus for more and better jobs for Mississippians, and for a military force with the capacity to defend the interests of the United States," Cochran said.

Cochran had trailed McDaniel in the June 3 primary by less than 1,500 votes, but forced a runoff when neither received more than 50 percent. Cochran had since sought to "expand the electorate," including pulling in independent and Democratic voters.

McDaniel in his speech to supporters in Hattiesburg blamed the loss on "liberal Democrats" voting in the GOP primary runoff and said, "now our job is to make sure the sanctity of this vote is upheld, make sure the Republican primary was won by Republican voters."

Mississippi technically has an open primary system, and no party registration. It also has a statute – considered unenforceable -- that says people should not vote in a party primary unless they plan to support the party's nominee in a general election. This has been the subject of litigation and calls for closed primaries in the past. But Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and others said that only those who voted Democratic on June 3 were prohibited from voting Tuesday.

Cochran, 76, enjoyed the support of the state's GOP establishment, and was endorsed by most statewide elected Republican officials including Gov. Phil Bryant.

McDaniel, 42, a two-term state senator, had tea party support, including financial backing from national groups, and a base fired up with anti-Washington and anti-incumbent sentiment.

It's a race that garnered national attention, as a key in the tea party vs establishment battle, and over intense mudslinging, bizarre incidents, comments and gaffes. Most notably, four McDaniel supporters were arrested and charged with felonies for allegedly conspiring to sneak into the nursing home room of Cochran's bedridden wife and photographing her to use in a political hit-piece video.

Money has flowed in the race – at least $17.4 million – most from outside interests.

The Cochran campaign raised about $4.5 million at last report; McDaniel, $1.5 million.

But more than 30 outside super PACS and other groups pumped in about $11.4 million. Outside groups spent $7.3 million helping McDaniel; $4.1 million helping Cochran.

Maur McKie of Madison said Cochran has done a lot for Mississippi, rattling off his work on issues important to the state including agriculture, military bases and infrastructure projects.

"Sen. Cochran has done a lot for this state,'' he said. "He can get things done. And he's in position to be chair of appropriations. What's not to like about him?''

McKie said he had "expected Thad to run away with '' a win for the primary.

He credited "heavy hitters'' such as Haley Barbour and local elected officials with energizing the base to support Cochran during the past few weeks.

He doesn't think the negative campaign will hurt the party.

"There's a lot of things that shouldn't have been said. That's just running a campaign,'' he said.

Nicole Hendricks said McDaniel's run for Senate highlights the rift between Mississippians.

"I think there's a big rivalry between people that want to keep everything the same in Mississippi and the people who want change and want to see it move forward," said Hendricks, a Hattiesburg resident and former GOP operative in Indiana.

"It proves that people are tired of the way things have been."

Hendricks said McDaniel's involvement in the race – and his campaign reaching this point against a powerful Mississippi incumbent – goes to prove that he's on to something with many Mississippians.

Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef thanked Cochran "for his constant, unwavering public service to our state when we needed help the most."

"We know he will continue to serve Mississippi in the same honorable and reliable manner in the coming years," Nosef said. "Sen. McDaniel, his staff and supporters ran an extremely well organized, well funded and hard fought campaign. His future in the Republican Party is bright both as a state senator and beyond."

Nosef said he believes any rift in the state GOP "is not as bad as people are portraying it."

"I personally think the vitriol we've seen is from a very loud, but small group of people who are ready to attack anyone who doesn't agree with them," Nosef said. "… I feel like the circumstances of this race are very unique, and not emblematic of some big split in the party. I haven't seen it express itself in other ways."

But state Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole said that based on similar rifts in his party in decades past, he believes the Cochran-McDaniel battle has changed the Mississippi Republican Party.

"I think young operatives in both sides on this race, 30 years from now, will still define their loyalties or alliances based on whether so-and-so was a Cochran man or a McDaniel man," Cole said. "… And if the tea party stays on the offensive, we may be looking at the beginning of the end of the so-called establishment Republicans calling all the shots in that party in Mississippi."

Regardless, Cole said he's encouraged for his party, and for Childers in the general election, by the Cochran-McDaniel battle.

"Just critiquing the way these campaigns have run, if this is the best they can do, we could beat either one," Cole said. "Both have been a case study in how not to do things. We've seen massive amounts of money wasted, so much of the advertising was tone deaf, and that's not even getting into all the shenanigans."

Nosef said: "We must all recover quickly from this tough campaign and then turn our focus toward the party unity necessary to carry us through re-electing Sen. Cochran this November and sweeping the November statewide elections of 2015."

Childers said the primary has shown "Sen. Cochran does not have the confidence of this state, let alone his own party."

"The majority of Republicans voted for change in Washington," Childers said. "And if we are going to change Washington, we will need to change who we send to Washington … I look forward to a spirited debate with Senator Cochran on the many issues facing Mississippi. And I am calling for Senator Cochran to join me in a series of debates beginning next month, so voters can clearly see the differences."

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves on Tuesday night said, "I know (Cochran) will stand strong and fight the far-reaching liberal policies of the Obama Administration and represent Mississippi's conservative values in our nation's Capitol. Sen. Cochran will work to bring positive change to Washington so all of our kids have the opportunity to grow up in a Mississippi with a bright future."

Contact Geoff Pender at (601) 961-7266 or gpender@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @GeoffPender on Twitter.