Article snippet: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) and her Democratic challenger Mike Espy faced off in their only debate ahead of the Mississippi runoff election on Nov. 27, clashing on issues from the Republican's controversial "public hanging" comments to health care and immigration. Both candidates sought to draw sharp contrasts throughout the debate: Hyde-Smith repeatedly promoted her conservative credentials and tied herself closely to MORE, while Espy promised he would remain independent if elected to represent the deep-red state. Here are the five takeaways from Tuesday's debate, in what is the last remaining Senate contest of 2018. Hyde-Smith apologizes for 'public hanging' comment Hyde-Smith's recent comments that she would be “on the front row” if a supporter invited her to a “public hanging” garnered most of the headlines in the days leading to the debate. But they ended up occupying only a small, albeit memorable, portion of the debate. The Republican senator sought to defend her comments, saying they were made to express support for a supporter who had lost his parents to cancer. She denied that the comments were made to "imply I would enjoy any type of capital punishment," and emphasized "there was no ill will whatsoever in my statement." “For anyone who was offended by my comment I certainly apologize," she said. She then sought to attack Espy, saying her comments were "twisted" and "used for nothing but political gain." Espy went on the attack, saying that "nobody twiste... Link to the full article to read more