Despite the controversy that has roiledhercampaign for the past three weeks, Cindy Hyde-Smith has won the race for Mississippi’s Senate seat, overtaking Democrat Mike Espy, according to NBC News and the New York Times.

The victory for Hyde-Smith, who has been serving in the Senate since she was appointed to replace Sen. Thad Cochran in April, was narrower than it might have been under different circumstances. Though her campaign stuck to a classic Mississippi Republican playbook, the candidate was plagued by gaffes, to put it mildly, which led to an underwhelming margin during the special election Tuesday. Mother Jones