Mississippi was somewhat close in 2008 and 2012 due to ultra-conservative voters not supporting John McCain and Mitt Romney due to religious differences and ideological disagreements and higher Black turnout for Obama. I am not entirely sure how well the Republican nominee will do in Mississippi in 2016 though, as the state mght be close in a Hillary Clinton vs. Ted Cruz race.
What?
For the second part, Hillary Clinton was down 1% to Ted Cruz in a Mississippi PPP poll.
Not sure about the first part.
