Politics | Election 2014 Tough GOP-Tea Party Primary Heads for Runoff Mississippi's Cochran-McDaniel duel not over yet By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Jun 4, 2014 4:57 AM CDT Copied Sen. Thad Cochran speaks on stage during a pre-election day rally at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson (AP Photo/The Clarion-Ledger, Joe Ellis) Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran and Tea Party-backed challenger Chris McDaniel pointed toward a possible June 24 run-off after battling to a near-draw yesterday in a primary that underscored Republican differences. Unofficial returns from 98% of the state's precincts showed McDaniel with slightly more than 49% of the vote in a three-way race and Cochran with slightly less. It takes a majority by one candidate to avoid a run-off. The race—arguably the year's last good chance for the Tea Party to topple an establishment favorite in a Senate primary—took a turn for the sensational last month when four McDaniel supporters were arrested and charged with surreptitiously taking photographs of Cochran's 72-year-old wife, who suffers from dementia and has long lived in a nursing home. The Mississippi contest easily overshadowed races in seven other states, several of which sent GOP establishment-backed candidates into fall campaigns for Senate seats that Republicans have targeted in their drive to gain six seats and a majority: State Sen. Joni Ernst overwhelmed her rivals in Iowa, easily surpassing the 35% total needed to win the nomination outright. She will take on Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley this fall for the Senate seat long held by Democrat Tom Harkin. In South Dakota, former Gov. Mike Rounds won the Republican nomination and quickly became a favorite to win a seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. Rick Weiland is the Democratic candidate in the heavily Republican state. And in Montana, appointed Sen. John Walsh, a Democrat, and Republican Rep. Steve Daines won nominations en route to a fall campaign that the GOP is expected to target as an opportunity to gain a seat. Read These Next Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Some of the most explosive Diddy allegations are dropped. Fan who taunted Ketel Marte's mom has been banned by MLB. NJ lifeguard survives after being impaled by an umbrella. Report an error