McDaniel blames loss on Dems

State Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) sounded a defiant note after falling short in his quest to topple Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), blaming his loss on crossover votes from “liberal Democrats.”

Addressing supporters just after The Associated Press called the Senate runoff election for Cochran, he was introduced anyway as the “Republican nominee,” a not-so-veiled reference to the fact that his campaign believes Democrats and African-American voters put Cochran over the top in the close primary. 

{mosads}After falling short in the first round of voting, Cochran looked to expand his share of the vote by reaching out to African-Americans who didn’t participate in the Democratic primary. They would then be eligible to vote in the open GOP runoff, but that plan drew jeers from the Tea Party and caused national groups to monitor polling sites for voting irregularities. 

Saying that there is “nothing dangerous” about his calls to balance the budget and stand up for conservative principles, McDaniel said “there is something a bit unusual about a Republican primary that is decided by liberal Democrats.” 

McDaniel never conceded to Cochran, instead blaming the incumbent for winning “by once again compromising principles, once again reaching across the aisle, by once again abandoning the conservative movement.” 

“Before this race is over, we have to make absolutely certain the Republican primary was won by Republican voters,” McDaniel said, leaving open the prospect of a legal challenge in the close election. 

“Today the conservative movement took a backseat to liberal Democrats in the state of Mississippi,” the state senator said, adding that “there were literally dozens of irregularities” and “you know why.”