Being a native Mississippian, and a registered Democrat, I know what frustration feels like. I can almost sympathize with Chris McDaniel and his Tea Party supporters. Almost.
Whenever we do manage to elect a Democrat, they inevitably vote like Republicans in a futile attempt to win conservative voters, who usually don't pay attention and just vote them out the next election cycle because there's a "D" by their name. I've said many times that here in Mississippi, elections are mainly a choice between a Republican with an "R" by their name, and a Republican with a "D" by it. There's not really any room for daylight between most candidates' positions, but Democrats keep trying to outconservative the Republicans. In this instance it worked as well for Chris McDaniel as it has for Democrats.
I have noticed, however, that a simple fact that has gone overlooked. The Democratic nominee, Travis Childers, was assumed to have decided to run in the hope that a McDaniel primary victory would give him a chance to draw enough Republican voters to win in this deeply conservative state. Instead, reliably Democratic voters including African Americans turned out to support a Republican who would likely cruise to an easy victory against their own party's candidate in a two way race, just to ensure a Tea Party defeat. I'm sure former congressman Childers didn't see that coming - but his campaign may not be over yet. Since the Tea Party is upset that black people showed up to vote, I would not be surprised if this is remembered as the event that escalated the civil war going on within the GOP. A McDaniel write in campaign is still a possibility, one that I'm sure Childers is now hoping for - with the result being a loss for both the Tea Party and the Establishment wings of the Republican party. And of course, the inevitable finger pointing to follow will be entertaining.
Elections here are usually Republican landslides, but finally, we have one worth watching. Run, Chris McDaniel, Run!
And oh yeah, that race thing. Somehow I don't see the Tea Party reaching out to minority voters, unless they're asking to see an I.D.
8:44 AM PT: As GAKeynesian pointed out, write in votes are not counted in Mississippi unless someone on the ballot dies. Thank you for pointing this out, I was not aware of this, though I've been observing Mississippi elections since the early 80's when my grandpa ran for sheriff of our county - and got a dose of the reality of Mississippi politics by watching voters come out of the polls, walk across the street, and be handed cash in plain view of the public.
What this means is that Democratic voters have probably ensured a Republican victory in order to keep a Tea Partier out of office. Hey, we're used to losing elections in Mississippi anyway.......