Thad Cochran Expands Lead Over Chris McDaniel In Final Count

The Mississippi Republican Party certified Sen. Thad Cochran's victory over state lawmaker Chris McDaniel on Monday in the state's Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate. In the final count, Cochran's lead had grown.

When the race was originally called in favor of Cochran with a lead of nearly 6,800 votes, tea party candidate McDaniel refused to accept his defeat, claiming that his campaign team had found thousands of irregularities in voting and threatening a legal challenge to the outcome. McDaniel argued that some Mississippi voters, who do not register by party, had committed fraud by voting in both the Democratic primary in early June and the Republican runoff in late June.

On Monday, Joe Nosef, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, sent a letter to the Mississippi secretary of state affirming Cochran's win with a certified vote count. The numbers show Cochran with a lead of 7,667 votes over his challenger, almost 1,000 more votes than first announced.

McDaniel is launching a legal challenge to the election results, contending that many Mississippi voters are "very angry" about the alleged voter fraud.

"It's our responsibility ... if the corruption is out there to end it once and for all," McDaniel said last week. He added that he will respect the court's ruling, even if the outcome is not in his favor.

Read the letter from the Mississippi GOP chairman below:

MS Sen Runoff Results