Washington (CNN) Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith returned a $2,700 donation from a businessman who was sued for discriminating against Muslims, her campaign said Monday.

The news comes ahead of next Tuesday's runoff election against Democratic challenger Mike Espy. Peter Zieve, a Washington state aerospace entrepreneur whose company, Electroimpact, was accused of discriminatory practices, donated $2,700 to Hyde-Smith's campaign on November 14.

"That donation was made online, and we have returned it," Hyde-Smith campaign spokeswoman Melissa Scallan said in an email on Monday.

Hyde-Smith faces Espy, an African American former congressman and agriculture secretary, in a runoff election on November 27.

The returned donation comes as Hyde-Smith has made national headlines in a pair of controversies that emerged after a progressive blogger posted videos in recent days of the senator making comments in early November that her campaign said were not meant to be taken seriously.

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