Tea Party-backed candidate weighing challenge of Mississippi GOP Senate runoff result

Sen. Thad Cochran

The Tea Party-backed challenger who narrowly lost a GOP runoff to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran said Wednesday he is weighing whether to challenge the result of the race.

Cochran was declared the winner of the tight race by a 6,373-vote advantage late Tuesday night over state Sen. Chris McDaniel. However, McDaniel has not explicitly conceded, instead complaining of “dozens of irregularities” that he has implied were due to Cochran courting Democrats and independents.

McDaniel said in a statement that his team is looking into the alleged irregularities to determine if a challenge is warranted.

“If our party and our conservative movement are to co-exist, it is paramount that we ensure the sanctity of the election process is upheld,” he said. “And we will do that. In the case of yesterday’s election, we must be absolutely certain that our Republican primary was won by Republican voters.”

McDaniel said last night’s results show that “some members” of the GOP are willing to engage in campaign tactics that are “unbecoming of the party of Ronald Reagan.”

“It’s no wonder so many conservatives don’t feel welcome in the Republican party,” he said.

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