Mississippi GOP primary down to the wire — and possibly headed toward a runoff

Mississippi GOP primary down to the wire &amp;mdash; and possibly headed toward a runoff

(Image credit: Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

The hotly contested Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Mississippi now appears headed for yet another round — but quite possibly with some strong momentum for Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel, against the longtime incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, McDaniel has 49.6 percent of the vote, against Cochran's 48.8 percent — and a little-known third candidate, Thomas Carey, has the remaining 1.6 percent. Under Mississippi law, if neither candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote in the primary, McDaniel and Cochran will head to a runoff election, which would be held just three weeks from now on June 24.