Veteran US senator threatened by tea party rival

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — An ultraconservative tea-party-backed challenger sought to end the political career of a veteran U.S. senator Tuesday in a Republican primary runoff in the southern state of Mississippi that has become increasingly bitter and underscored deep divisions in party ranks.

Six-term Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran needs a comeback in the runoff after trailing state Sen. Chris McDaniel in a June 3 primary. With more than $12 million in outside spending, the election has become the latest focus for the national battle between traditional Republican powers and conservative insurgents. Race is an issue, too, as tea partyers try to monitor how many Democrats— particularly black voters —cast ballots in the Republican runoff.

The runoff offers the best remaining chance for a tea party-backed challenger to oust an incumbent Republican senator. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell easily defeated a primary challenger in Kentucky earlier this year, but the tea party got a boost last week in Virginia when a little known college professor upset House Majority Leader Eric Cantor — the 2nd most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives — in a primary in a Virginia congressional district.

On Monday, the 76-year-old Cochran pressed his campaign to convince Mississippians that they cannot afford to lose his influence and ability to steer billions of federal dollars back to the state, one of the poorest in the U.S. The former Senate Appropriations Committee chairman could return to his old post if he’s re-elected and Republicans win a Senate majority in the November election when control of Congress is at stake.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the party’s 2008 presidential nominee, was the latest establishment Republican to help Cochran’s cause Monday, appearing alongside his colleague at a rally in Mississippi’s capital.

McDaniel, who had multiple campaign stops scheduled Monday, used McCain’s visit to support his argument that Cochran is the face of a $17 trillion federal debt and a profligate Congress the nation can no longer afford. McDaniel is trying to take advantage of widespread voter discontent with Congress and the nation’s overall direction.

“When you total up the amount of time that Cochran and McCain have been in the Senate, you get 62 years,” McDaniel wrote in a fundraising email. “They’ve been in Washington for a combined 72 years. That’s a long time, and a long list of appropriations.”

McDaniel hasn’t detailed his plans to balance the federal budget, but he’s drawn solid support from national and local tea party-aligned organizations who favor deep spending cuts but oppose any tax increases to boost revenue.

Facing contempt from some conservatives, Cochran has aimed his influence argument at independents and Democrats, including African-Americans in a state with the nation’s highest proportion of black voters. In Mississippi, voters do not register by party and anyone can vote Tuesday, except the 85,000 people who cast Democratic ballots on June 3. McDaniel’s campaign calls the appeal to Democrats “desperate” and even suggests it’s illegal, though that claim is based on an old law that courts have invalidated.

National tea party groups said they are working to “ensure a free and fair election” by sending several dozen observers to precincts to watch who votes during Tuesday’s Republican contest.

“Thad Cochran and his establishment handlers are out trolling, begging for Democrats to cross over and vote in the Republican runoff,” Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund chairwoman Jenny Beth Martin said in announcing that her group and two others have hired an attorney to watch Tuesday’s primary.

Cochran’s campaign staff believes he would get a boost if Mississippi voters who traditionally go for Democrats — black voters and union members — participate in the Republican runoff. The Republican nominee will be a heavy favorite in November, and several prominent black Democrats are supporting the incumbent as far preferable to his primary challenger.

At a Tea Party Express rally Sunday in Biloxi, McDaniel, a state senator, never mentioned race. But he received loud applause when he said: “Why is a 42-year incumbent pandering to liberal Democrats to get re-elected?”

The prospect of poll watchers raised concerns about possible voter intimidation in a state where 50 years ago three young civil rights workers were slain by racist Ku Klux Klan members during what became known as “Freedom Summer” when white college students descended on Mississippi in an attempt to register blacks to vote. The movement helped create momentum for the federal 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Asked if the Justice Department is watching this year’s Mississippi runoff, Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said in an email: “The department is aware of concerns about voter intimidation and is monitoring the situation.” Voters who experience problems are encouraged to report them, she said.

Race also is an issue in a House primary in New York, where Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, 84, one of the most recognizable members of the Congressional Black Caucus, faces multiple challengers in his primary as he aims for a 23rd term representing demographically shifting areas of New York City. Rangel’s top challenger is state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who would become the first Dominican-born member of Congress.

Rangel must run as Harlem and surrounding neighborhoods have become increasingly Hispanic. Rangel raised eyebrows when he asked in one debate, “Just what the heck has he done besides saying he’s a Dominican?”

In all, there are primary elections Tuesday in seven states. Colorado and Maryland will pick candidates for governor. Republicans in Oklahoma will choose a nominee who will be favored to succeed retiring Sen. Tom Coburn. Utah has legislative primaries, and in South Carolina there is a Republican runoff for lieutenant governor.