Cindy Hyde-Smith: Let 'Em Hang!

Did Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) give her opponent a reason to win?

Mike Espy is a long shot candidate for the U.S. Senate. He managed to take his underdog campaign to a run off against Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi.

Espy is African American and is one of the many candidates who didn't get the name recognition as Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum. However, this run-off coming up in late November could change it.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) is the replacement for Thad Cochran. The old man retired abruptly and the Mississippi governor Phil Bryant appointed her to fill the term.

The lawmaker is a staunch supporter of Donald J. Trump and Mississippi went to him by 20 points.

In a deep red state like Mississippi, could Espy win?

Well it's not going to be an easy challenge.

Could we put another Black lawmaker in the U.S. Senate?

Over the weekend, a video surfaced showing the senator making a remark to a constituent.

"If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row"- Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith says in Tupelo, MS after Colin Hutchinson, cattle rancher, praises her.

Hyde-Smith is in a runoff on Nov 27th against Mike Espy. pic.twitter.com/0a9jOEjokr

— Lamar White, Jr. (@LamarWhiteJr) November 11, 2018

In a video posted by the publisher of the Bayou Brief, a Louisiana blog, Hyde-Smith, who is white, embraced a supporter after he praised her and said before a cheering crowd, "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row."

Hyde-Smith is now coming under fire from her Democratic challenger in the upcoming Nov. 27 runoff, Mike Espy, and the greater African-American community for evoking language reminiscent of lynchings that scar Mississippi's history.

The publisher of the Bayou Brief, who identified the Hyde-Smyth supporter as Colin Hutchinson, a cattle rancher, said the video was from a Nov. 2 event in Tupelo, in the northeastern corner of the state. The video has over 3 million views on Twitter.

Hyde-Smith sought to clarify her remarks in a statement issued Sunday.

"In a comment on Nov. 2, I referred to accepting an invitation to a speaking engagement," she said in the statement. "In referencing the one who invited me, I used an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous."

During a speaking engagement in Jackson on Monday, Hyde-Smith repeatedly refused to answer reporters' questions about the comment, according to ABC News' affiliate WAPT.

The Democrats are now pouring money into the race. Hopefully, Espy could pull an upset.

It's going to be hard. And in a few weeks, we'll see if one of these contenders will be seated in the 116th Congress.