Mississippi: Hyde-Smith wins runoff. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated Demcoratic opponent Mike Espy on Tuesday by an 8 point margin. The race, which was often nasty and tainted by allegations of racism from the black Espy to the white Hyde-Smith, will give the GOP a 53-47 majority in the Senate next year. Hyde-Smith is becomes the first woman elected to the Senate in the state, (she was appointed last year in place of the retiring Thad Cochran). Florida: Dems eye 15th District. The 2018 midterms are barely finished, yet Democrats are already taking aim at one particular Florida Congressional seat for 2020. Republican Ross Spano beat Democrat Kristen Carlson by 6 points to win the seat, but Dems think the seat is vulnerable following questions surrounding potential campaign finance violations made by Spano during the race. Georgia: Yates has no plans to run for office. Despite pleas from state Democrats, former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates has said she has no plans to run for office in the state. Yates became a Democratic darling in 2017 when she refused to enforce President Donald Trump’s travel ban and was subsequently fired. Now practicing law in Atlanta, she has been seen as a potential rising star should she choose to run for Senate in 2020 or for Congress, though she has repeatedly denied having interest in doing so.
