Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith failed to secure more than 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday night. That means the contest to fill the remainder of former Sen. Thad Cochran’s term will advance to a runoff later in the month.

With 79 percent of precincts reporting, former Democratic Rep. Mike Espy led Hyde-Smith 40.8 to 40.7 percent. Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel trailed with 17 percent.

Without McDaniel splitting the GOP vote, Hyde-Smith is expected to prevail in the runoff. Cochran’s term expires in 2020.

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