Tons of election coverage, both locally and nationally on "Gulf Coast Mornings with Kelly Bennett and Uncle Henry" this Nov 7.
Here are the highlights:
One of Mississippi U.S. senators has been reelected and as expected, the other one faces three more weeks of campaigning as she tries to hold onto the seat to which she was appointed seven months ago.
Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith will face Democrat Mike Espy in a runoff on November 27th after a tight battle in yesterday's special election. With the results still not complete, Hyde-Smith has gotten 42 percent of the vote, well short of the number needed to avoid a runoff. Espy has gotten 41 percent, a difference of fewer than eight thousand votes. Republican Chris McDaniel ran a distant third in the nonpartisan election but last night he endorsed Hyde-Smith and his supporters could widen the slim lead that she had over Espy if they vote in the runoff. Espy stands to pick up a much smaller number of additional votes from the other Democrat in the race, Tobey Bartee. Mississippi's other Republican senator, Roger Wicker, won reelection easily.
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There are decisive victories to report in Mississippi's four congressional races. Republican Trent Kelly won by a two-to-one margin over Democrat Randy Wadkins, with District 2 Democratic U.S. House member Bennie Thompson garnering more than 70 percent of the vote, his closest rival, Independent Troy Ray receiving only 21 percent of the votes cast. The District 3 U.S. House seat was won by Republican Michael Guest, and District 4 voters overwhelmingly re-electing Steven Palazzo.
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Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has been elected to a full term as Alabama governor, defeating Democratic challenger Walt Maddox. Ivey took over as governor 19 months ago when her predecessor, Robert Bentley, resigned in the fallout of an alleged relationship with a top aide.
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Midterm election results show Democrats regaining control in the House of Representatives. The shift in power is expected to result in big fights over Trump's plan for a massive border wall, and raises the possibility of government shutdowns over the coming two years. Democrats have also pledged to aggressively investigate the President and his administration.
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Voters who normally skip the midterm elections are making an impact this year. Exit polls indicate that 16 percent of voters were casting ballots in their first midterm election. The polls show the first-time voters were choosing Democrats over Republicans by a rate of 62 percent. Midterm elections tend to draw far fewer voters than presidential elections.
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Voters overwhelmingly gave their support to the Harrison County School Bond referendum.
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More in depth conversations throughout the show this morning: