Blue Cross Blue Shield Association requests refund of donation to Hyde-Smith campaign

The health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has requested a refund of its donation to embattled Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-Miss.) campaign.

A spokesperson for BCBSA confirmed to The Hill that the organization has asked for a refund of its $1,000 contribution. 

Rantt Media first reported that BCBSA asked Hyde-Smith’s campaign to return the donation. 

Hyde-Smith’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.  

{mosads}BCBSA is the latest in a string of companies and organizations to request a refund of its contribution to Hyde-Smith’s campaign, joining Major League Baseball as well as Walmart, Pfizer, AT&T, Union Pacific and Boston Scientific.

Hyde-Smith, who is facing off against Democrat Mike Espy in a runoff election for Mississippi’s Senate seat on Tuesday, has faced criticism for saying earlier this month that she would be in the “front row” of a “public hanging” if invited by a supporter. Hyde-Smith has said the remark was meant as a joke and apologized for the comment.

Espy, who is black, said during a debate last week that Hyde-Smith’s comment gave the state “another black eye that we don’t need.”

Hyde-Smith has also drawn criticism for joking about making it more difficult for liberal students to vote, and for a 2014 photo of her wearing a Confederate hat in a museum.