In the weeks following Sen. Thad Cochran’s primary runoff win, Mississippi Republicans have been split between the establishment politician’s supporters and those who believe he only won by enticing many black Democrats to vote illegally. His opponent, Tea Party-backed Chris McDaniel, has received support from many high-profile conservatives – including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Discussing the issue with radio host Mark Levin during a recent show, Cruz confirmed that he wants to make sure the charges against Cochran receive sufficient scrutiny.

“These allegations need to be vigorously investigated,” he said; “and anyone involved in criminal conduct should be prosecuted.”

Mitch Tyner, the attorney handling McDaniel’s campaign, affirmed this week that he has uncovered thousands of ineligible ballots cast by Democrats or otherwise ineligible voters. That discrepancy comes after McDaniel won the initial GOP primary on June 3 by a margin of about 1,300 votes. His failure to secure a majority, however, led to the subsequent runoff election.

According to recent reports, Cochran not only reversed that initial deficit, but handily beat his conservative competitor by nearly 8,000 votes. The huge fluctuation in support led critics to call out Cochran’s reported technique of reaching out to blacks – who vote overwhelmingly for Democrats – in an effort to put him over the top in the runoff election.

McDaniel’s team is confident that the results of this election can be overturned in court.

Tyner announced Tuesday that McDaniel wants to simply bypass the peripheral assertions surrounding the race by holding a new runoff election.

“The correct remedy is a new election,” he said. “I know there’s several thousand that are absolutely ineligible voters.”

In addition to cash rewards offered to anyone able to prove instances of voter fraud, lawsuits against the state’s secretary of state and the Republican Party have been filed on McDaniel’s behalf, contending they limited access to relevant data following the election.

In what is not sure to hep his pubic image Cochran got lost on way to Senate lunch an embarrassing moment that will not help his reputation The Hill reports.

After exiting a Senate elevator on the wrong floor, Cochran and with a reporter from The Hill reboarded. He then found the right floor but turned away from the Senate GOP luncheon, a few yards from the elevator, to stroll in the opposite direction, arriving at the Democrats’ weekly gathering a few hallways away.

He chatted with Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) for a few minutes at the entrance, with Pryor congratulating him on his recent primary win over Tea Party-backed candidate Chris McDaniel, which his opponent is challenging.

Cochran didn’t seem to realize he was in the wrong place until someone in the room asked him if he was planning to join the Democrats for lunch.

“His father and I were elected to Congress and then to the Senate,” Cochran said after turning away from the Democrats’ room, referring to Pryor.

The Mississippi Republican then paused for a second, fumbling to read some papers he was holding.

“OK, so I’ve got to find out where …” Cochran said before The Hill asked if he was looking for the GOP luncheon, which has been held every Tuesday in the same room for years. “Well, look, S-211. Let’s see if I can do this. I’ve been here long enough — 30 years,” he said with a grin.

Cochran’s office downplayed the mix-up.

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