Chris McDaniel, who narrowly lost Mississippi's GOP Senate primary to incumbent Thad Cochran last week, told a crowd Saturday that his loss was "clearly the most unethical election in the history of this state" and also "the most illegal," apparently forgetting that Mississippi also existed from 1866 to 1965.

Immediately after the Mississippi Republican Party certified incumbent Thad Cochran as the winner of its Senate primary today, the Senate Conservatives Fund wired $70,000 to his Tea Party opponent to challenge the result. The fund is run by Ken Cuccinelli, the GOP's foremost expert on losing elections.

This was predictable. The war between a Tea Party conservative and the sitting senator he challenged in Mississippi's GOP primary last month is intensifying, with name-calling, Baba Booey-style gonzo tactics, and pearl-clutching accusations of voter fraud involving black Democrats. Deep South, y'all!

It's no secret that Democrats in Mississippi, consigned to losing the general Senate election in November, turned out Tuesday night to support incumbent Republican Thad Cochran against a Tea Party primary challenger. But in doing so, they may have run afoul of state election laws.