Evidence key for election challenge

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, July 9, 2014

The votes were cast, counted and have been certified as true, yet the nasty Republican Senate Primary Race simply will not end.

Two weeks after the last vote was counted, the allegations haven’t stopped flowing forth from losing challenger Chris McDaniel’s supporters — both within the state and from other parts of the country.

But the allegations are long on accusations and short on facts. Mississippians voted, yet outsiders continue to push their agendas.

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In the latest round, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Tea Party favorite, has jumped into the fray suggesting publicly that he believes “serious allegations of voter fraud” have occurred and that all should be investigated and any lawbreakers prosecuted.

We agree. If laws were broken, let’s talk about specifics, not overly dramatic allegations that provide no provable facts.

Last week, a Texas-based group, along with 13 Mississippi residents, filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking copies of all poll books. The lawsuit was dropped this week, but allegations continue.

McDaniel’s supporters refuse to give up, despite the results showing incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran coming out on top by more than 7,600 votes.

It was a small margin of victory. The amount of Cochran’s lead amounted to 2 percent of all the votes cast.

If McDaniel’s camp truly believes some wrongdoing was done, they need to quickly produce some evidence.

Short of that, please concede and save Mississippi taxpayers further expense by having to defend against legal action taken in a last-ditch effort to gain power.