Article snippet: Democrats are aggressively targeting another Senate seat in the Deep South in next Tuesday’s runoff election after scoring a major win in Alabama last year, as embattled Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) stumbles in deep-red Mississippi. Hyde-Smith had long been seen as the overwhelming favorite in her race against former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy (D) in Tuesday's runoff, but the widespread backlash over her "public hanging" comment is forcing Republicans to lock down a race that's starting to tighten. The gaffe is making Democrats more optimistic about their prospects, despite acknowledging the steep challenges they still face in a state that hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1982. Flipping the seat would give them a second major Senate win in the Deep South after Sen. Doug Jones (D) pulled off a massive upset in a special election in Alabama last year, narrowly defeating Republican MORE who faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations that he denied. The outcome of the Mississippi race will likely hinge on sustained turnout in a runoff scheduled just days after the Thanksgiving holiday. Espy will need to see a surge among black voters and cut into Republicans’ advantage with white voters if he is to overcome the GOP’ tight grip on the state. “We need to turn our voters out and replicate Nov. 6. We believe we got a really strong GOTV effort,” said Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist for Espy who also worked on Jones’s campaign. “I believe the damage she’s... Link to the full article to read more