Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defeats Mike Espy in U.S. Senate runoff in special elections

On Tuesday night, it was announced that Democrat Mike Espy had lost to Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi. Hyde-Smith becomes the first woman elected to Congress from Mississippi.

She’s set to take over former GOP Sen. Thad Cochran's term who resigned. The new senator is set to serve out Cochran’s remaining two years.

Despite Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy contest facing race-related controversies, Hyde-Smith has won. Of the 94 percent of votes, she had 54.4 percent or 453,911 votes.

Espy had 45.6 percent or 380,231 votes. Republicans are now set to start the new Congress in January with a 53-47 majority in the Senate.

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. At a post-election event she said:

"This is just an unbelievable night. This has been an unbelievable campaign. God above is the reason we're here, and I'm going to give him glory every single day."

She added:

"The reason I was elected tonight, people in Mississippi, they know me, and they know that I'm going to represent everybody. I always have."

She also took the time to thank President Donald Trump for his support. Hyde-Smith promised to represent "every Mississippian" and not just the ones who voted for her.

She promised that "I'm going to do my very best to make you proud.” At the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Espy took the stage after finding out he’d lost.

He congratulated her saying:

"She has my prayers to unite a very divided Mississippi. She has my prayers and willingness to help her."

Espy added:

"We built the largest grassroots organization that our state has ever seen in a generation. We did that through a coalition of voters, white and black, who shared a belief that Mississippi's future will be brighter than Mississippi's past. Make no mistake, tonight is the beginning. Tonight is not the end."

He continued:

"When this many people show up, when this many people stand up, when this many people speak up, it is not a loss, it is a movement. It is a moment. It is a movement. And we are not going to stop moving our state forward just because of one election. I look forward to finding new ways to do just that.”

On Wednesday, Trump took to Twitter to congratulate his favorite candidate:

“Congratulations to Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith on your big WIN in the Great State of Mississippi. We are all very proud of you!”

The race-related controversies that the pair’s contest faced were of some footage that showed Hyde-Smith speaking about her willingness to attend a "public hanging." She later insisted that the comment was not intended to have any racial connotation.

Hyde-smith explained that many interpreted it as such in a state where lynchings were once frequent and racial tensions still run deep. She then apologized to anyone she might have offended.

The Senate special election in Mississippi took place on November 6. The election was held to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Thad Cochran when he resigned on April 1, due to health reasons.

Hyde-smith was appointed by Republican Governor Phil Bryant to fill the vacancy before she got officially elected on Tuesday.