Hyde-Smith Loses Another Donor Hours Before Polls Close

TUPELO, MS - NOVEMBER 26: (L-R) Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Cindy Hyde-Smith and President Donald Trump wave as they exit Air Force One as they arrive for a rally at the Tupelo Regional Airport, November 26,... TUPELO, MS - NOVEMBER 26: (L-R) Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Cindy Hyde-Smith and President Donald Trump wave as they exit Air Force One as they arrive for a rally at the Tupelo Regional Airport, November 26, 2018 in Tupelo, Mississippi. President Trump is holding two rallies on Monday in Mississippi, in support of Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Cindy Hyde-Smith. Hyde-Smith faces off against Democratic candidate Mike Espy in a runoff election on Tuesday. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Just hours before polls close in Mississippi’s runoff Senate election between Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) and Democrat Mike Espy, another corporation is severing its ties with Hyde-Smith, who has been widely criticized for joking about attending a “public hanging.”

The health insurance mammoth Blue Cross Blue Shield Association confirmed to the Hill on Tuesday afternoon that it had asked the Hyde-Smith campaign for a refund of its $1,000 donation. Rantt Media was first to report on the refund request.

Blue Cross Blue Shield joins a number of other companies and groups that have asked the Hyde-Smith campaign for their money back since the sitting senator’s remarks surfaced earlier this month. Others include Major League Baseball, Walmart, Pfizer, AT&T, Union Pacific, Boston Scientific and Google.

The hanging remark is just one of a several incidents that have earned Hyde-Smith criticism for racially charged rhetoric. In recent weeks, a photo surfaced of Hyde-Smith from 2014 wearing a Confederate hat. It also was reported that she attended a private school for white students only after public schools were desegregated.

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