On Tuesday night Mississippi elected Cindy Hyde Smith as its Junior Senator. The election happened now, at the end of November, because it was a run-off. The original election, back on November 6th, was not decisive because neither candidate got the required 50%.[1]

In the runoff it was close.[2]

And all of this happened even though Cindy Hyde-Smith was heard saying some of the most remarkable things on the campaign trail. For example, she said about Colin Hutchinson, a cattle rancher who had just praised her, that ‘If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.’[3]

Say what?!

Oh sure, Hyde-Smith “apologized” if anyone had been “offended.” [3] She said that it was just meant as a “joke.”

The joke is that someone like this can get elected Senator in 2018 in the United States.

Oh and later she “joked” about voter suppression. Haha, that’s funny as well!

This is the fourth time that we had a “moral victory” and the fourth time that we came up short. The other three were:

• Ron Gillum
• Stacey Abrams
• Beto O’Rourke
• Bill Nelson (sort of)

Ron Gillum and Stacey Abrams – both African-Americans – ran for Governor in Florida and Georgia respectively, and they came close to knocking off their Republican opponents. It’s pretty clear that in both states voter suppression played a big (and probablydecisive) roll in keeping them from winning.[4]

Beto O’Rourke – the “new Obama” – came close to knocking off übervillain Ted Cruz, but it wasn’t enough.

Bill Nelson, the incumbent white senator in Florida would also likely have  won his re-election if not for voter suppression in that state.

And now Mike Espy forced a run-off with Cindy Hyde-Smith.

I can only say, fuck the moral victories.

We need to be winning these things. And we should be ashamed as a nation that we let people like Cindy Hyde-Smith win, that we let people like Brian Kemp suppress voters and win, that we let down great candidates like Beto O’Rourke who don’t win. Shame on us.

Following the Hyde-smith win, NPR had a story on how shocked election officials around the World are when they hear that election officials in the United States can sometimes regulate their own elections.

In the meantime President Dumpf and his Republican allies are braying about voter fraud and about how illegal immigrants allegedly vote in large numbers.

They don’t.

They can’t.

But let’s not let reality supersede a good story, while the real villains not only get away scot free, but  actually get themselves elected.

In the United States.

In 2018.

[1] Another right-wing Republican, Chris McDaniel, received 16.5% of the vote, enough to deny Hyde-Smith her 50%. Even so, Hyde-Smith was at 41.5% while Mike Espy, her Democratic opponent was slightly behind at 40.6%. Combined, both Republicans (Hyde-Smith and McDaniel) were at about 58%, so clearly above 50%.

[2] No it wasn’t close. It was only close if you think of a 7.7% difference as close. It isn’t.

[3] The video of her saying this prompted lots of outrage – for crying out loud, even Walmart Stores Inc. pulled its support for her campaign and asked for her to return a $1,000 donation – and it was clear to just about everyone that she was referring to lynchings, of which there have been far too many in Mississippi.

[4] Brian Kemp was the Secretary of State in Georgia before running for Governor (or really, while running for Governor), and it’s clear that he in particular engaged in voter suppression efforts.