President Trump to campaign for Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi runoff

WASHINGTON – In his first set of political rallies since Democrats flipped the House, President Donald Trump will travel to Mississippi on Nov. 26 to stump for Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in her runoff against Democrat Mike Espy.

Trump plans to campaign at rallies in Tupelo and Biloxi for Hyde-Smith. The runoff will take place Nov. 27.

".@cindyhydesmith loves Mississippi and our Great U.S.A.," Trump tweeted.

Trump has conducted more than 40 such rallies over the course of this election year. Despite his stepped-up pace in October and November, the Republicans lost control of the House after the midterms, though they kept their majority in the Senate.

Hyde-Smith is dealing with fallout from a comment she made at a campaign stop in Tupelo on Nov. 2. While praising a longtime friend, she said, "I would fight a circular saw for him. If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row."

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The "hanging" comment quickly went viral, with critics saying it conjured up images of lynchings and Mississippi's racist past. Her opponent, Espy, is African-American.

Democrats have also accused Hyde-Smith of supporting voter suppression, citing a video in which she can be heard saying that "maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult" for some people to vote, and "so I think that's a great idea."

In a statement, Hyde-Smith spokeswoman Melissa Scallan said, "Obviously Sen. Hyde-Smith was making a joke and clearly the video was selectively edited."

The Hyde-Smith campaign later tweeted: "It's ok to still have a sense of humor in America isn't it?"