With neither candidate able to crack 50% in the Mississippi GOP Senate primary, it appears likely that there will be a June 24 runoff to determine the winner of the contest between incumbent Senator Thad Cochran and Tea Party favoirte, state senator Chris McDaniel. With 97% of the precincts reporting this morning, Cochran has 49.6% of the vote while McDaniel has 48.9%. With only a few thousand votes left to count, it seems likely that a runoff is in the offing. This is the worst possible scenario for the GOP, as more millions of dollars will be poured into the runoff - cash that would be much better spent in the general election against Democratic winner, former Rep. Travis Childers. There is also the damage that both candidates have inflicted on each other in what is easily the dirtiest campaign of the season. The race turned out to be a lot closer than some analysts predicted, as McDaniel was seen to have the momentum and the enthusiasm of his supporters going for him the...(Read Full Post)