See Also: Mike Espy Speaks Out On Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Saying She Would Sit Front Row At A ‘Public Hanging’

Republicans scrambled on Monday to prevent Hyde-Smith from losing a Senate seat in deep red Mississippi to a Democrat in the state’s runoff election Tuesday, Politico reported. Espy, 64, former congressman and U.S. secretary of agriculture during the Clinton administration, also had high-profile backers campaign for him in Mississippi, including possible 2020 Democratic presidential contenders Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. “While Cindy Hyde-Smith got Mississippi out of that undistinguished club when she was appointed, there still had never been a woman elected, so this is another milestone for the state of Mississippi." Trump is campaigning for Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is facing a tough runoff election against Democrat Mike Espy on Tuesday as she seeks to keep her seat. Here's what you need to know about Tuesday's runoff:

The race is the conclusion of a special election for the seat of Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired in April. RELATED: A political blockade is colliding with the evidence on climate change

President Donald Trump visited Mississippi on Monday to rally Republican voters behind Hyde-Smith after her comments about a “public hanging” set off weeks of controversy. Not enough that Cindy Hyde-Smith, the Republican candidate in the Mississippi Senate run-off tonight, was caught on tape saying she would be willing to take a front row seat at a “public hanging” if one of her important supporters invited her—an odd offer, to say the least, in a state that, according to the NAACP, has a horrific history that includes 581 lynchings from 1882 to 1968, the most of any state in that period.
Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith defeats Democratic candidate Mike Espy in a run off election in Mississippi.