McDaniel files legal challenge to Cochran’s Mississippi win

Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) has finally filed a legal challenge to Sen. Thad Cochran’s (R-Miss.) primary victory after six weeks of threats to do so.

McDaniel lost his June 24 primary runoff to Cochran by 7,667 votes, but has refused to concede. 

{mosads}After weeks of threats that he’d challenge the results — and an appeal to the state party to review the results that was rebuffed — McDaniel has filed a challenge in Jones County claiming that enough Democrats who’d voted in the earlier primary crossed over to invalidate the results.

“Republicans did not elect the nominee on June 24, so we are excited for the opportunity for Republicans to reclaim their primary process,” he said in a statement. “This challenge is not about the candidates. It is about the integrity of Mississippi’s election process, and we are committed to ensuring that process is accurate and fair for future Republican candidates.”

McDaniel’s campaign has submitted thousands of votes it claims were potentially cast illegally and should be thrown out. Those include McDaniels’s own lawyer, Mitch Tyner, and his wife. 

Most believe he has little to no shot at overturning the primary results.