Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy shake hands following their Senate debate. | Rogelio V. Solis, Pool/AP Photo Elections Hyde-Smith apologizes 'to anyone offended' by public hanging remark In the sole debate of her Senate runoff against Democrat Mike Espy, the Republican accuses her rivals of twisting her words for political gain. 
 
 Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith on Tuesday offered her first qualified apology to “anyone that was offended” by her remark that she would gladly attend a “public hanging” if one of her supporters invited her. 
 
 In the lone public debate of the runoff Senate election between Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy, the Republican senator said she meant no ill will by her remark, which she said was made to express her deep regard for a young supporter. But then she accused Democrats of distorting her comment, which was caught on video, for political gain. 
 
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 "My comments [did not] mean I would enjoy any type of capital punishment sitting there witnessing this. You know, for anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statements," she said. But Hyde-Smith added, "This comment was twisted and it was turned into a weapon to be used against me. A political weapon used for nothing but personal and political gain by my opponent." 
 
 Espy, who is African-American, said the episode has been an embarrassment to Mississippi, reinforcing stereotypes and giving "our state another black eye that we don't need." 
 
 "No one twisted your comments because your comments were live, it came out of your mouth," Espy said. "I don't know what's in your heart, but we all know came out of your mouth." 
 
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 The exchange came during an hourlong debate in which the two sparred over ethics, health care, President Donald Trump and his proposed wall on the Mexican border. Hyde-Smith attacked Espy over money he'd received from an Ivory Coast dictator as a lobbyist — a charge to which Espy had an anemic response. Espy tried to portray Hyde-Smith as a blind ally of the president, even when his policies hurt Mississippians, such as farmers and people with pre-existing health conditions. 
 
 The debate came one week before the Nov. 27 election between the two, which was forced when neither candidate received more than 50 percent in the first round of voting on Nov. 6. Hyde-Smith opened and closed the debate by hyping two campaign rallies Trump is holding to support her Monday, the eve of the election, a sign of how much she is relying on the president to help turn out voters given the unusual timing of the runoff. 
 
 Hyde-Smith also repeatedly attacked Espy as a liberal who would follow Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer's marching orders. 
 
 She repeatedly brought up the hundreds of thousands of dollars Espy received from a former Ivory Coast dictator, attacking his past work as a lobbyist as corrupt. Espy said he went to the Ivory Coast to help local farmers, and that once he learned about the nation's leader, he reported those facts to the CIA and canceled the remainder of his contract. 
 
 Espy tried to paint himself as above partisan squabbling. He also disagreed with several administration policies, calling Trump's tariffs a "wrongheaded policy" that hurt Mississippi farmers and labeling the proposed border wall "impractical." 
 
 He attacked Hyde-Smith repeatedly on health care, claiming that her opposition to a resolution that would have banned skimpy insurance plans was a vote against protections for pre-existing conditions. Hyde-Smith said she knew what she was voting for, and claimed the bill would not have hurt patients. She also touted her co-sponsorship of a bill from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) that would protect patients with pre-existing conditions. Espy said that particular bill was a "sham" that wouldn't actually provide those protections. 
 
 Hyde-Smith came under fire in the days leading up to the debate over her remark to a supporter early this month that she would be in "the front row" if he invited her to a “public hanging.” In addition to repeatedly attacking her about it during the debate, Espy released a TV ad hours before in which a narrator warns Mississippians, “We can’t afford a senator who embarrasses us and reinforces the stereotypes we’ve worked hard to overcome.” 
 
 Outside Democratic groups have pounced on the "public hanging" remark and another offhand comment by Hyde-Smith, also caught on video, that it was a "great idea" to make it harder for "liberal folks" to vote. Hyde-Smith said she was joking in both cases and that there was no racial intent in her remarks. 
 
 Several major companies, including Walmart, asked for their campaign donations to Hyde-Smith to be returned. 
 
 Republicans, meanwhile, have attacked Espy, a former congressman and Cabinet secretary, as both a run-of-the-mill Democrat and a corrupt Washington insider. They’ve criticized Espy for his past as a lobbyist and for his time as Agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton. One ad, from the super PAC Senate Leadership Fund, called him a “shady Clinton crony.” 
 
 Espy was forced to resign following an indictment on charges that he improperly took gifts while in office, though he was later acquitted on all charges. 
 
 Hyde-Smith has also leaned heavily on Trump in a state he won by nearly 20 percentage points. Her campaign released a TV ad this week featuring clips of Trump bashing Espy and endorsing Hyde-Smith during his most recent rally in Mississippi, in early October. 
 
 A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in Mississippi since 1982, and both parties view Hyde-Smith as a clear favorite in the race, though Democrats hope that the combination of Hyde-Smith's recent remarks and the odd timing of the election just a few days after Thanksgiving could give Espy a boost. 
 
 Hyde-Smith was appointed to the seat by Gov. Phil Bryant earlier this year after Republican Sen. Thad Cochran retired for health reasons. Hyde-Smith and Espy are in a runoff after neither candidate received a majority in the first round of voting on Election Day. Republican Chris McDaniel, who nearly toppled Cochran in a primary four years ago, finished a distant third. 
 
 If Hyde-Smith wins, Republicans will have a 53-47 Senate majority in the next Congress. 
 
 ||||| Democrat Mike Espy responds to a statement from his opponent, appointed U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., during a televised Mississippi U.S. Senate debate in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018.... (Associated Press) 
 
 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A white Republican U.S. senator from Mississippi said during a debate with her African-American Democratic opponent Tuesday night that she apologizes to people who were offended when she complimented a supporter by saying she would attend a "public hanging" if the supporter invited her. 
 
 Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's remark was caught on video that was released last week. It has brought widespread criticism both inside and outside Mississippi, a state with a history of racially motivated lynchings. 
 
 "For anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statement," Hyde-Smith said Tuesday during a televised debate with Democrat Mike Espy. 
 
 The apology was a new approach for Hyde-Smith, who repeatedly refused to answer questions about the hanging comment at a news conference Nov. 12, the day after the publisher of a liberal-leaning news site posted the video on Facebook and Twitter. 
 
 The clip shows Hyde-Smith praising a cattle rancher at a Nov. 2 campaign event in Tupelo by saying: "If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row." Shortly after the video's release, she said in a statement that the expression was an "exaggerated expression of regard" and said it is "ridiculous" to read any negative connotation into it. 
 
 "There has never been anything, not one thing, in my background to ever indicate I had ill will toward anyone," Hyde-Smith, a former state agriculture commissioner, said Tuesday night. "I've never been hurtful to anyone. I've always tried to help everyone. I also recognize that this comment was twisted and it was turned into a weapon to be used against me, a political weapon used for nothing but personal and political gain by my opponent. That's the type of politics Mississippians are sick and tired of." 
 
 Espy responded during the debate: "No one's twisted your comments because your comments were live, you know, it came out of your mouth. I don't know what's in your heart but I know what came out of your mouth. It went viral in the first three minutes around the world. And so it's caused our state harm. It's given our state another black eye that we don't need. It's just rejuvenated those stereotypes that we don't need anymore." 
 
 Hyde-Smith is the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. Espy is a former congressman and U.S. agriculture secretary, is seeking to become the state's first African-American senator since Reconstruction. 
 
 During the debate, Hyde-Smith questioned a $750,000 lobbying contract Espy had in 2011 with the Cocoa and Coffee Board of the Ivory Coast. She noted that the country's ex-president, Laurent Gbagbo, is being tried in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, including, Hyde-Smith said, "murder, rape and unspeakable things against young girls." 
 
 "I don't know how many Mississippians can really relate to an income that can command a $750,000 check from one person for a lobbying job," said Hyde-Smith, who is a cattle rancher. 
 
 Espy, who is an attorney, said: "I found out later that this guy, the president, was a really bad guy. I resigned the contract." 
 
 Federal registration papers show Espy terminated the contract two weeks before its scheduled end. 
 
 Hours before Tuesday's debate, President Donald Trump defended Hyde-Smith's "public hanging" remark, saying at the White House that she loves the people of Mississippi and the U.S. 
 
 "It was just sort of said in jest," Trump said. "She's a tremendous woman and it's a shame that she has to go through this." 
 
 Walmart asked Hyde-Smith to return a $2,000 campaign contribution because of the hanging remark. Walmart spokeswoman LeMia Jenkins said Tuesday that the company donated to Hyde-Smith Nov. 8, three days before the release of the video with the "public hanging" remark. 
 
 "Sen. Hyde-Smith's recent comments clearly do not reflect the values of our company and associates," Jenkins said in a statement. "As a result, we are withdrawing our support and requesting a refund of all campaign donations." 
 
 Hyde-Smith's campaign did not respond to questions from The Associated Press about whether it would refund Walmart's contribution. 
 
 Senate races rarely gain national attention in Mississippi, a deeply conservative state. But this matchup — the last major race of the 2018 midterms — has drawn scrutiny after Hyde-Smith's remarks. 
 
 Trump is traveling to Mississippi for two Hyde-Smith rallies Monday on the eve of the election. Former Vice President Joe Biden has endorsed Espy. 
 
 Hyde-Smith was appointed to the Senate to temporarily succeed longtime Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired in April amid health concerns. She is the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. 
 
 Hyde-Smith and Espy each received about 41 percent of the vote when four candidates were on the ballot Nov. 6. If she wins the Nov. 27 runoff, Hyde-Smith would give Republicans a 53-47 majority in the Senate. 
 
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 Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed from Washington. For AP's complete coverage of the U.S. midterm elections: http://apne.ws/APPolitics . Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .
– At a debate Tuesday night, Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith apologized to "anyone that was offended" by her joke about a public hanging, but accused her Democratic opponent of "twisting" her words. "There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever in my statement," the Republican said during the televised debate. She went on to accuse Democrats of turning her words into a "political weapon used for nothing but personal and political gain by my opponent," Politico reports. Democrat Mike Espy, who is African American, responded: "No one's twisted your comments because your comments were live, you know, it came out of your mouth." Espy said Hyde-Smith's remark, which she made while praising a cattle rancher at a campaign event, had " given our state another black eye that we don't need," the AP reports. Hyde-Smith, who will face Espy in a runoff election Nov. 27, was widely criticized for the hanging remark and took more flak earlier Tuesday when a Facebook post from 2014 surfaced showing her holding a rifle and wearing a Confederate hat during a visit to the Jefferson Davis museum. "Mississippi history at its best!" she said in the post. President Trump defended the candidate Tuesday night, saying the remark was "just sort of said in jest." "She is a tremendous woman and it is a shame that she has to go through this," he said. (Walmart has asked her to return its donations.)