As vote-buying allegations are reeled back, Chris McDaniel is running out of options
It’s impossible to question Chris McDaniel’s tenacity, pushing for a third election in the Mississippi Senate race despite having been clearly defeated in the runoff last month. But his campaign’s push to have the courts force a new election due to alleged voter fraud — always a long shot regardless of evidence — are probably near collapse, as a key accuser rolls back his story.
Earlier this month, in a taped interview with a conservative blogger, a Mississippi man named Stevie Fielder accused the campaign of Sen. Thad Cochran of having handed him envelopes of cash intended to lure black voters to the polls. McDaniel backers jumped on the story as evidence of fraud.
We looked at those accusations after they emerged, finding a lot of reason to question the claims. Now, in an interview with the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Fielder says, among other things, that his convoluted story referred only to a “hypothetical” situation.
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7/11/14