President Trump on Monday night heaped praise on embattled Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) on the eve of Mississippi\u2019s nationally watched runoff election, while attacking\u2026<\/b>
\nPresident Trump on Monday night heaped praise on embattled Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) on the eve of Mississippi\u2019s nationally watched runoff election, while attacking her Democratic rival as \u00ab\u00a0far-left.\u00a0\u00bb
In his first rally of the night, Trump urged voters to not get complacent and to vote for Hyde-Smith in order to boost Republicans’ Senate majority. He highlighted Hyde-Smith’s unwavering support for his agenda, particularly her vote for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Trump is headlining two rallies on behalf of Hyde-Smith ahead of Tuesday’s runoff to fill the remaining two years of retired Sen. Thad Cochran \u2019s (R) term in a race that\u2019s become unexpectedly competitive in deep-red Mississippi.
Hyde-Smith will square off against former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy (D), who’s vying to become the first black senator in the state since Reconstruction.
\u201cI think it\u2019ll be a very big day for Cindy, but don\u2019t take any chances,\u201d Trump said in Tupelo, Miss., on Monday night. \u201cThat\u2019s happened many times before. That never works out well, just assume you have to vote.\u201d
\u00ab\u00a0Cindy is so important, so respected…. If we win tomorrow, we\u2019ll be at 53-47 seats, which is substantially more than we had.\u00a0\u00bb
With growing fears over holding the seat, national Republicans have heavily invested in the race with millions of dollars in advertising. Trump, in addition to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S. C.), came to stump with Hyde-Smith to drive turnout in a runoff just days after Thanksgiving.
Hyde-Smith has become embroiled in controversy that was sparked by a joke that she\u2019d be \u201con the front row\u201d if a supporter invited her to a \u201cpublic hanging.\u201d She has since apologized for the comment, while Espy has denounced it as \u00ab\u00a0harmful\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0hurtful.\u00a0\u00bb
It\u2019s brought race to the forefront of the campaign in a state with a history of lynchings and a significant African-American population.
Hyde-Smith has also come under fire for joking about making it more difficult for liberal students to vote as well as over a 2014 photo that resurfaced of her wearing a Confederate hat in a museum.
She\u2019s still favored to prevail on Tuesday, but Democrats have become energized amid an increasingly tightening race.
While showering Hyde-Smith with praise, Trump argued that Espy will vote in \u00ab\u00a0lockstep\u00a0\u00bb with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), calling Democrats the \u00ab\u00a0party of caravans and crime.\u00a0\u00bb
\u201cMike Espy would rather protect illegal aliens than people who live in Mississippi and Mississippi workers,\u201d Trump said.
After initial reservations, Trump endorsed Hyde-Smith prior to the Nov. 6 race and held a rally in Southaven, Miss. Neither Hyde-Smith nor Espy won over 50 percent of the vote, which is necessary to avoid a runoff.
Hyde-Smith briefly joined Trump on stage on Monday to thank him for his endorsement and tout her support for \u201cpro-life issues,\u201d defending military and law enforcement and lower taxes.
\u201cI think I\u2019ve given you one big reason to ask for your vote \u2014 I\u2019ve stood up for you and you know I\u2019ll continue to stand up for the conservative values of Mississippi,\u201d she said.
Graham, who\u2019s up for reelection in 2020 in deep-red South Carolina, also joined Trump to bolster Hyde-Smith and highlight her vote for Kavanaugh, who\u2019s denied allegations of sexual assault from high school. Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee, drew headlines for his fierce rhetoric defending Kavanaugh during his testimony.
\u201cWhen Kavanaugh needed your senator, she was there,\u201d Graham said. \u201cI want you to show up Tuesday.\u2026 If you like Kavanaugh, there\u2019s more coming.\u201d
Senate Republican leadership have touted their larger majority as key to pushing through more judicial nominations in the next Congress.
At Monday\u2019s rally, Trump took a victory lap about holding onto the Senate majority, accusing the media of only focusing on Democrats\u2019 takeover in the House. Trump won Mississippi by nearly 18 points in 2016 and remains popular in the state.
For their part, Democrats have grown more optimistic in a state that hasn\u2019t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982.
Espy has had his own star power on the campaign trail thanks to visits from Sens. Cory Booker (D-N. J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), two black senators who are seen as potential 2020 presidential hopefuls.
Espy has also faced his own hurdles, with GOP attacks over a past lobbying contract with a West African despot and previous bribery allegations, though he\u2019s been acquitted of all charges.
The Democrat has been out of office for more than two decades, after serving in Congress from 1987 to 1993, then becoming former President Clinton\u2019s Agriculture secretary.
But Democrats remain cautiously hopeful about pulling off another upset in the Deep South, after Sen. Doug Jones (D) won Alabama\u2019s special Senate election late last year.
-Updated 6:54 p.m.<\/p>\n