Contentious Mississippi GOP primary race for lieutenant governor exposes rift among conservatives

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Republican primary challenger has spent months telling people that first-term Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is insufficiently conservative and labeling him “Delbert the Democrat.” That tactic fell short as Hosemann defeated the challenger, state Sen. Chris McDaniel. The contentious race has exposed rifts among Republicans in the Mississippi Senate and among people who voted Tuesday in the Republican primary. A third candidate, Tiffany Longino, received a small share of the vote. Hosemann advances to the Nov. 7 general election. He will face Democrat D. Ryan Grover, a business consultant who had raised no campaign money by the end of July.