The Republican National Committee and President Trump went all in to help make Cindy Hyde-Smith the first female senator from Mississippi, outspending Democrats 3-to-1 and contacting virtually every voter even slightly interested in her.
A day after Hyde-Smith beat former President Bill Clinton's Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy by 68,585 votes for a sizable 53.9 percent to 46.1 percent runoff victory, the RNC revealed that it put $2.6 million into the race and the president said he also shifted some of his 2020 re-election collections to Mississippi.
Mississippi – @realDonaldTrump needs you to get out and vote for @cindyhydesmith! #MSSen https://t.co/N4eXF1lGXt
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) November 26, 2018
By comparison, according to a Daily Beast reporter, the Democrats put in over $830,000, including a monthly $10,000 to the state party for the last year.
Final DNC investment in the Espy race was over $830,000 including investing $10,000 each month in the Mississippi Democratic Party from October 2017 on
— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) November 28, 2018
In the end, it appears that the Democrats might have blown it, considering the racial overtones at the end that were a drag on Hyde-Smith and encouraging to Democrats.
The Republicans said that they did not want to take anything for granted in keeping a critical seat that has been GOP for a long time, and in a state the president did well in on Election Day 2016.
The party pulled out the big guns for her, having Trump fly to rallies in the final days of the campaign, and setting up a get out the vote machine that included:
- 100 RNC staff in the state, critical to the runoff.
- They recorded 2.2 million voter contacts either in phone calls or door knocks in a state that has just 2.9 million residents.
- In a sign of the times, the party focused on mobile devices, sending 1.5 million text messages.
- 500,000 direct mail letters sent directly to voters.
What's more, the party poured resources and attention into social media, including a stream of tweets from RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel. They also manned opposition research and rapid response "war rooms" during the candidate debates.
The mainstream media conveniently ignores it, but Democrat Mike Espy is as corrupt as they come:
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) November 25, 2018
*indicted on 39 (!!) felony charges
*resigned in disgrace from Clinton admin
*his chief of staff sent to prison
Mississippi won’t be fooled into supporting him this time! #MSSen
McDaniel cheered the results in a statement to Washington Secrets, and said Hyde-Smith will be a strong ally of Trump.
“Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith will continue to be a great advocate for Mississippians and an ally for President Trump and his agenda. Her historic victory is proof that Mississippians are happy with the direction the country is headed under President Trump’s leadership.”
