There’s an embittered battle over the fate of the Republican Party in the Hospitality State. Thad Cochran served as one of Mississippi’s senators since 1978 and faces a strong challenge from Tea Party-backed Chris McDaniel. During the primary, the candidates both earned a handful of votes short of the 50% needed to prevent a runoff. Now, candidates will churn along the campaign trail for a few more weeks until voters decide whether they want to keep an established politician adept at bringing home the bacon or to have the upstart run in November. It’s at a tipping point. As Rich Lowry writes for National Review, “The bottom line is that it is a devastating rebuke if you’ve been a senator from a state for 40 years and can’t manage to get to 50 percent in a primary.” More…