MS Senate race remains its own parallel universe

The Republican is still angling for the black Democratic vote. The Democrat is trying to win over conservative tea party Republicans.

Welcome back to the bizarre parallel universe that is the 2014 Mississippi U.S. Senate race. It has been and continues to be a dog-my-cats affair of epic proportions.

In a rare public appearance in the Metro area, six-term incumbent Republican Sen. Thad Cochran will thank supporters Thursday at an event sponsored by the All Citizens for Mississippi PAC. This group, created by black religious and political leader Bishop Ronnie Crudup, ran ads and campaigned to help Cochran pull off a hail Mary primary runoff win against tea party challenger Chris McDaniel.

McDaniel, still challenging the June 24 loss in court, called the ads race baiting and cried foul over thousands of Democrats crossing over to help Cochran win a Republican primary.

All Citizens' $160,000 in funding was funneled primarily from the Mississippi Conservatives PAC, a pro-Cochran outfit created by former Gov. Haley Barbour and his nephew, political operative Henry Barbour.

Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Travis Childers, an underdog trailing in the polls by double digits, has made two major overtures to tea party Republicans. His wild-card shot at an upset would likely depend on luring GOP crossovers angered over McDaniel's loss.

Childers is the first Democrat to sign the Federation for American Immigration Reform's anti-amnesty pledge. He's also vowed to support a balanced budget amendment. At the Neshoba County Fair this year, as tea party members sat in the audience with tape over their mouths in protest of Cochran, Childers declared, "The tea party says we cannot sustain $17 trillion in debt. They're right."

Each side has tried to defend cross-party pandering.

Cochran's side says he's known for working across the aisle in Congress and has always enjoyed bipartisan support in elections.

Childers' says he was a "Blue Dog," relatively conservative Democrat when he served in the U.S. House and that he's always enjoyed bipartisan support, including as a longtime chancery clerk in Prentiss County.

Childers and Cochran are on the Nov. 4 ballot, along with perennial candidate Shawn O'Hara of the Reform Party.

McDaniel is awaiting a state Supreme Court ruling on his appeal of the dismissal of his legal challenge of the June 24 GOP primary runoff. A lower court ruled he waited too long to file his challenge.

Contact Geoff Pender at (601) 961-7266 or gpender@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @GeoffPender on Twitter.