There Is No Republican Primary in Mississippi

Let’s be honest. Chris McDaniel didn’t lose the Republican primary runoff in Mississippi last night.

There is no Republican primary in Mississippi.

That’s because state law allows any Democrat who didn’t vote in the Democratic primary (which means most Democrats) to vote in the Republican primary…and they did. In fact, Sen. Thad Cochran vigorously pursued Democrat votes, and if anecdotal turnout figures are correct, he got them in numbers adequate to squelch the insurgent campaign of state Sen. McDaniel.

Now, perhaps it’s time to jettison the illusion of a two-party system, but (if preliminary data proves accurate) let’s not pretend that the majority of Republicans in Mississippi embrace the status quo, cronied-up bacon-bringer Cochran, nor that they reject McDaniel’s limited-government views.

The Democrats who voted for Cochran yesterday will reliably vote for his Democrat opponent in November. Cochran did not win one for the party, for the movement, or for any particular principles. Cochran merely protected his flanks by making a temporary alliance with his rivals in order to sustain his profitable business venture called “Senate career.”

(For complete 2014 midterm coverage, get your campaign fix on The Grid.)