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TN Politics: Sanford on Hyde-Smith and City Council Vacancies

WKNO-FM

It may not have been a surprise that Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith was elected to the U.S. Senate in Mississippi in this week's runoff. The red state hasn't elected a Democrat to that position since the 1980s. But Hyde-Smith's off-the-cuff remarks about attending a public hanging (which she called an "exaggerated expression of regard") inflamed the state's liberal voters, who decried her lack of apology, and galvanized Republicans, who felt the national media gave it too much attention. 

This week, political analyst Otis Sanford talks with WKNO about how that may have influenced the election. He also talks with us about the ongoing drama in the Memphis City Council. With three vacant seats to be filled by council members, Sanford says that citizens need to keep a close eye on who is looking for the job. One applicant, Edmund Ford Sr., is the father of a councilmember who just left. 

Reporting from the gates of Graceland to the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, Christopher has covered Memphis news, arts, culture and politics for more than 20 years in print and on the radio. He is currently WKNO's News Director and Senior Producer at the University of Memphis' Institute for Public Service Reporting. Join his conversations about the Memphis arts scene on the WKNO Culture Desk Facebook page.