RRH Elections Mississippi Senate Runoff Poll: Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) Leads Mike Espy (D) 54-44

Ahead of Tuesday’s runoff election, a new poll from RRH Elections with Bold Blue Campaigns and JMC Analytics & Polling of 684 likely voters in Mississippi shows appointed Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) with a significant lead in the runoff election to hold her Senate seat. The survey shows Hyde-Smith leading former Rep. and Clinton U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy (D) by a margin of 54% to 44%, with just 1% undecided at this late date. The survey was conducted November 19-21 and 23-24, 2018 with 684 Live Response calls by Bold Blue Campaigns and JMC Analytics & Polling, and has a margin of error of +/- 4%. RRH Elections is solely responsible for data analysis for this survey, including demographic weighting. The survey results were weighted by self-reported race, gender, and first-round vote. RRH Elections is a group of volunteer hobbyist bloggers that has no connection to any candidate or organization active in this race. This poll was entirely crowd-funded by donations from the readers of our blog.

Topline Results:

Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) 54% Mike Espy (D) 44% Undecided 1%

Flip over for full results!

Demographics:

Voting:

Almost certain to vote: 84%

Very likely to vote: 16%

Race:

White 64%

Black 32%

Other 4%

Gender:

Male: 47%

Female: 53%

Age:

18-30 4%

30-50 21%

51-64 40%

65+ 35%

Geography:

Congressional District 1: 28%

Congressional District 2: 27%

Congressional District 3: 26%

Congressional District 4: 19%

First Round Vote:

Espy 45%

Hyde-Smith 44%

McDaniel 12%

Other <1%

Self-Reported Party ID:

Republicans 54%

Democrats 44%

Independents 2%

Trump Job Performance:

Approve 56%

Disapprove 43%

Unsure 1%

Crosstabs:

Race Hyde-Smith (R) Espy (D) Undecided White (64%) 84% 15% 1% Black (32%) 1% 98% 1% Other (4%) 16% 72% 12%

Age Hyde-Smith (R) Espy (D) Undecided 18-30 (4%) 52% 48% – 31-50 (21%) 58% 40% 2% 51-64 (40%) 52% 47% 1% 65+ (35%) 55% 44% 1%

Gender Hyde-Smith (R) Espy (D) Undecided Male (47%) 57% 41% 2% Female (53%) 52% 47% 1%

First-Round Vote Hyde-Smith (R) Espy (D) Undecided Espy (45%) 1% 98% 1% Hyde-Smith (44%) 97% 1% 2% McDaniel (12%) 100% – –

Party ID Hyde-Smith (R) Espy (D) Undecided Republican (54%) 95% 3% 2% Democratic (44%) 6% 94% – Independent (2%) 14% 74% 12%

Trump Approval Hyde-Smith (R) Espy (D) Undecided Approve (56%) 91% 7% 2% Disapprove (43%) 5% 94% 1%

Congressional District

Hyde-Smith (R) Espy (D) Undecided 1 (28%)

63% 37% – 2 (27%)

34% 64% 2% 3 (26%)

59% 39% 2% 4 (19%)

65% 34% 1%

Methodology:

All survey design and data analysis was conducted by RRH Elections. Bold Blue Campaigns and JMC Analytics & Polling placed 684 live calls to cell and landline phones of likely voters in Mississippi on November 19-21 and 23-24 (calling was suspended on November 22 because of the Thanksgiving holiday). Those who attested that they were unlikely to vote in this year’s general election were not included in the survey. The poll was weighted by race, gender, and first-round vote choice only; random deletion was not used as a method of weighting.

Discussion:

Our RRH Elections poll shows appointed Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) with a 10-point lead on her rival in Tuesday’s Mississippi US Senate runoff election, ex-Rep. Mike Espy (D). Hyde-Smith benefits from very strong support among white voters, Republicans, and those who approve of the President, while Espy collects near-unanimous support among black voters, Democrats, and those who disapprove of the President. With neither candidate demonstrating significant crossover support, the race will come down to the lean of the state and turnout. As the white and Republican blocs in Mississippi are larger than the black and Democratic blocs, it seems likely that her larger base will carry Hyde-Smith to a moderately strong victory. Espy’s best chance to win is if there is a significant turnout differential in which whites and Republicans do not turn out while blacks and Democrats do. However, in our sample we do not see strong signs of such a lopsided turnout in Espy’s favor.

About RRH Elections:

RRH Elections is a Republican-leaning elections blog that discusses electoral politics, not policy, with particular attention to congressional and state races. We cover electoral news daily and provide insight into the electoral landscape. Using our in-house expertise, we have produced nine polls , seven of which have predicted the margin in their races to within four points. RRH Elections is run by a team of 9 unpaid hobbyists, all with no connection to any candidate or group active in this race. Funding for this poll comes entirely from the donations of our readers. If you enjoyed this poll, please visit our site and donate so that we may bring you more surveys like it in the future. Our site can be found at http://rrhelections.com. To contact us for comments or questions about this poll, the best way is by email at rrhelections@gmail.com.

Appendix: Poll Script

Mississippi US Senate Runoff (n=750; population is (1) those who voted at least once between November 2016 and today, or (2) those registered to vote in the district after October 2016 book closing)

“Greetings, this is Bold Blue Campaigns, and we are conducting a brief political survey in your area about the upcoming US Senate Election in Mississippi. Are you willing to answer a few brief questions? (If yes)

1: How likely are you to vote in the November Runoff Election for US Senate?

Almost Certain

Very Likely

Somewhat Likely (drop)

Not At All Likely (drop)

Won’t Vote (drop)

2: If the upcoming November Runoff Election for US Senate were held today which candidate would you support?

Democrat Mike Espy

Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith

Undecided

3: Do you consider yourself to be a Democrat, Republican, or Independent?

Democrat

Republican

Independent

Do Not Know

4: Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of President Donald Trump?

Approve

Disapprove

Unsure

5: In the November General Election For US Senate in Mississippi Which Candidate Did you Vote For:

Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith

Republican Chris McDaniel

Democrat Mike Espy

Democrat Tobey Bartee

Did Not Vote in the November 6 General Election

“Now we have a few final questions to verify our records.”

6: What is your age?

18-30

31-50

51-64

65+

7: What is your gender?

Male

Female

8: What is your race?

White/Caucasian

Black/African-American

Other/Mixed Race

“Thank you for your time and your participation, your responses have been recorded. “