The latest development in Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel‘s ongoing effort to prove that Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., supposedly stole the June primary run-off election with “irregular” votes is a bit embarrassing.
From the Clarion Ledger:
Oh my.
“Cochran’s campaign and lawyers, and some election officials, have refuted McDaniel’s claim that there were thousands of illegal or irregular votes in the June 24 runoff,” according to the Clarion Ledger. “They say McDaniel volunteers have found ‘irregularities’ where none exist and that the election, which Cochran won by 7,667 votes, was fair and had no more problems than the human error involved in a normal election.”
McDaniel’s team has also accused Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Cochran campaign spokesman Jordan Russell of casting irregular votes.
Look, it’s a shame that Cochran was able to eke out a win in Mississippi. He has proven over several decades that the only thing he cares about is staying in power and keeping crony capitalists fat and satisfied. He has backed terrible legislation, he has betrayed his party on numerous occasions and it’s clear that he can be bought by the highest bidder.
But McDaniel needs to pack it up and go home. His election challenge appears to be based on paper-thin claims of fraud and this latest development with his attorney is flat-out embarrassing.
And although it’s likely too late for the Tea Party-backed candidate to bow out of the race gracefully, McDaniel doesn’t have to go full clown-show on the people of Mississippi. He can still end his election challenge and come out with at least a shred of dignity.
Then again, perhaps McDaniel is dragging out his challenge so that he can continue to solicit donations that may or may not be used to help pay off his campaign debt. If that’s the case, well, the state’s Republican Party has some serious issues that it needs to sort out.
