Chris McDaniel, the Tea Party–backed challenger for U.S. Senate in the Mississippi Republican primary, is not taking his loss all that well. Instead, he is now fully challenging the moral legitimacy — and perhaps even the legal legitimacy — of incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran's victory.
The Cochran campaign had reached out to African-American voters, who often vote Democratic, to vote in the Republican runoff in order to stop the more extreme McDaniel. Cochran has won the race with just under 51 percent of the vote.
"But there is something a bit strange, there is something a bit unusual, about a Republican primary that's decided by liberal Democrats," an outraged McDaniel told his supporters. "So much for bold colors, so much for principle. I guess they can take some consolation in the fact that they did something tonight — by once again compromising, by once again reaching across the aisle, by once again abandoning the conservative movement."
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He later added: "And today, the conservative movement took a backseat to liberal Democrats in the state of Mississippi. In the most conservative state in the Republic, this happened. And if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. And that's why we will never stop fighting."
McDaniel also explained to the cheering crowd: "As you know, folks, there were literally dozens of irregularities reported all across this state. And you know why. You read the stories. You're familiar with the problems that we have. Now it's our job to make sure that the sanctity of the vote is upheld. Before this race ends, we have to be absolutely certain that the Republican primary was won by Republican voters. And so we will stand with courage, we will stand with judgment, we will stand with integrity, and we will stand with dedication."
To watch the speech, via C-Span, click here.
