Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has not yet given back $50,000 worth of donations in spite of requests that they be returned amid blowback over her controversial “public hanging” comments.
The funds were discovered in the latest Federal Election Commission filings from her campaign, which shows that she did not return most money from corporate donors in November after a video of her remarks on the campaign trail sparked outrage in a state with a painful history of lynchings.
“If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row,” Ms Hyde-Smith says in the video in reference to a supporter of her campaign.
The video was taken by a political tracker who had been following her campaign.
Among the companies that did not receive funds back were Google, Facebook, and Walmart.
A separate organisation, Major League Baseball, did receive its donation back but it turns out that the funds were cancelled before they could be processed.
The Jackson Free Press reported that the refusal to return the funds is likely because Ms Hyde-Smith had just $63,744.51 left at the end of her campaign.
Ms Hyde-Smith’s hanging comments thrust her campaign into controversy as she ran against Democrat Mike Espy in November.
She ultimately beat Mr Espy on 28 November during a runoff election, with roughly 60,000 more votes than the challenger.
The 59-year-old senator has been serving in Washington since being appointed to the seat by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant in April.
She was tapped to take the seat when former Senator Thad Cochran announced he would be resigning amid ongoing health concerns.
Ms Hyde-Smith’s runoff election victory over Mr Espy made her the first woman to ever be elected to the Senate from Mississippi.
