Runoff Likely in Mississippi

“A runoff appeared likely in the GOP Senate primary between six-term incumbent Thad Cochran and tea party challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel on Tuesday night, with the race tight, neither at over 50% and a little-known third candidate, Thomas Carey, tracking just under 2%,” the Clarion Ledger reports.

“McDaniel and Cochran swapped leads as results came in. With 97% of precincts in, unofficial results showed McDaniel leading 49.5%, or 147,451 votes, to Cochran’s 49% or 146,071 votes. To avoid a runoff, a candidate must receive more than 50%. A runoff would be held on June 24.”

New York Times: “The senator’s backers were deeply concerned going into the balloting on Tuesday about the possibility of a runoff, fearing that Mr. McDaniel’s Tea Party supporters would be more likely to show up at the polls again.”