PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (AP) – Republican Sen. Thad Cochran said Thursday that he’s asking for the support of Mississippi voters in November “no matter your skin color, or how much money you have.”
Cochran and his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, spoke to thousands of people Thursday at the Neshoba County Fair, an annual gathering known as “Mississippi’s Giant Houseparty.” It’s one of the largest political gatherings in the state and possibly the only time before Election Day the two candidates will appear in the same place at the same time.
Although Cochran and Childers gave back-to-back speeches, they did not pass each other or have any interaction onstage or backstage. Cochran did not mention his primary opponent during his 10-minute speech.
“If you happened to walk by a television during the past few months, you might have seen or heard some things about me,” the 76-year-old Cochran said. “Some pictures even made me look a little bit old.”
He deadpanned that he’s not bothered by it – “not too much.”