18 races to follow for the 2018 midterms

18. Mississippi

Candidates: Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith vs. Republican challenger Chris McDaniel vs. Democratic challenger Mike Espy

Let’s start off with something complicated, shall we? Mississippi’s elections are run in a “jungle primary” system, wherein all candidates duke it out in an open election. Party affiliations are not taken into consideration, meaning that multiple candidates from the same party can run in a competitive race. If one candidate does not rise above the others with at least 50 percent of the vote, then Mississippians will return to the polls to pick between the top two candidates.

Currently, voters are looking at three serious contenders. First, there’s Cindy Hyde-Smith. She’s the state’s appointed senator, having been picked for the role by Governor Phil Bryant. Hyde-Smith is filling in for retired Senator Thad Cochran, who stepped away from his position in the spring.

As a semi-incumbent, Hyde-Smith might have a chance. But, her political past as a former Democrat (having switched to the Republican side in 2010) might hurt her chances in red state Mississippi. That could mean her challenger, conservative Republican Chris McDaniel, has an in.

McDaniel, a former talk show radio host and lawyer, narrowly lost a spot in 2014’s primary to Cochran. He’s got Tea Party roots and serious conservative credentials, which could be a boon to some Republican voters. Then again, he was endorsed early on by Steve Bannon, the now disgraced White House advisor — could that hurt his chances?

Rounding out the group is Democrat Mike Espy, who is currently the leading Democrat in the race. Espy was Mississippi’s first African-American representative since the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. He also spent some time as the Secretary of Agriculture during the Clinton presidency. Depending on who’s voting, his time as a political insider could seriously help or hurt his chances.

Campaign website for Hyde-Smith: https://cindyhydesmith.com/

Campaign website for McDaniel: https://mcdaniel2018.com/

Campaign website for Espy: https://espyforsenate.com/