Espy Gaining Ground in Mississippi Senate Race
A recent poll conducted on behalf of the Mike Espy for Senate Committee shows Espy trailing Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just five percentage points in the Mississippi race for the U.S. Senate.
Hyde-White has served in the Senate for two years. Initially appointed by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant in April 2018 to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by long-time Senator Thad Cochran, Hyde-Smith won a special election for the U.S. Senate in November 2018.
The current results represent an improvement from the May 27th -28th Public Policy Polling survey sponsored by the Mississippi Democratic Party that showed Hyde-Smith with a 49%-to-41% advantage.
This latest poll, from Garin-Hart-Yang, finds that Hyde-Smith is weak for an incumbent, with a net-negative rating among independents and just 37% of voters holding a favorable view of her. Meanwhile, Espy leads with independents, is tied with young White voters, and receives a robust 85% share of the Black vote.
Issues seen as negatively impacting Hyde-Smith include the death of George Floyd and the decision by Mississippi to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from its State Flag.
As Mississippi Today noted, “The Espy campaign is making race a major issue amid the national debate of racial inequities in government.”
“Things only keep getting worse for Sen. Hyde-Smith,” said Espy campaign manager Joe O’Hern. “After outraising her 3-to-1 and raising more in July than Sen. Hyde-Smith did the entire second quarter, momentum continues to build for Mike Espy. As the campaign only begins in earnest, it is clear that Mississippians are tired of Hyde-Smith’s weak leadership and partisan political games as COVID-19 continues to ravage the state.”
