Two weeks ahead of the Republican Senate primary in Mississippi, a new poll puts challenger Chris McDaniel ahead of incumbent Thad Cochran, the GOP leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee, 43-40, with 15 percent undecided. The poll of 505 likely voters is the first in six weeks and was conducted last week, says Pollster. Margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent. An April poll had Cochran ahead by 17 points.
The Clarion-Ledger contrasts Cochran and McDaniel on the campaign trail; the courtly and mild-spoken six-term senator and the firebrand state legislator who wants to replace him. Over the weekend, the McDaniel campaign was put on the defensive for an offensive video produced by someone who is not part of the campaign team, says the Christian Science Monitor.