Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) called the June runoff election in which he lost to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) the most “unethical election in the history” of Mississippi.
“Let’s make it very clear today,” McDaniel said at a “freedom rally” event on July 5, flagged by Buzzfeed. “After what we saw the other night, which is clearly the most unethical election in the history of this state and might — and might — very well be the most illegal election in the history of this state. We will let the word go forth from this time and place to friend and for alike. The people of this state will do anything to preserve the torch of liberty. We will bear any burden, fight any foe, to make sure that corruption is finally rooted out of the election process in this state.”
McDaniel’s comments came weeks after the runoff of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate between him and Cochran, a race McDaniel has refused to concede even though Cochan was certified by the Mississippi Republican party as the nominee on Monday. McDaniel and his supporters have accused the Cochran campaign of conducting foul play to win the runoff, particularly through courting Democrats and African-American voters.
But as Buzzfeed notes, McDaniel’s claim that the election was the most “unethical” and possibly the most “illegal” in Mississippi history might be a bit of a stretch. For instance, in 1875, Mississippi Democrats came up with a plan to oust Republicans in the state by using violence against African-Americans and making economic threats against black sharecroppers.
And then in 1890, Mississippi had a constitutional convention to make sure poll taxes and literacy tests were in the state constitution to stop blacks from voting.
Video of McDaniel’s comments, via Buzzfeed, is below:
