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After the video was posted on Twitter, Hyde-Smith did not apologize but defended herself.
\"In a comment on Nov. 2, I referred to accepting an invitation to a speaking engagement,\" she said in a statement. \"In referencing the one who invited me, I used an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous.\"
When actress Debra Messing criticized Walmart for its donation to Hyde-Smith, the company responded that the senator’s comments “clearly do not reflect the values of our company and associates.”
Hi Debra. Completely understand your concern. Sen. Hyde-Smith’s recent comments clearly do not reflect the values of our company and associates. As a result, we are withdrawing our support and requesting a refund of all campaign donations.
— Walmart (@Walmart) November 20, 2018
We were not aware of Senator Hyde-Smith’s remarks when this contribution was made on November 8, and we have requested a refund. We reject the Senator’s statements, which are not aligned with our company’s core values.
— Boston Scientific (@bostonsci) November 19, 2018
Walmart requested a full refund of $4,000 Tuesday, according to a company spokeswoman, while AT&T requested a full refund of $2,000.
ABC News reached out to the senator's campaign office last Tuesday but has not yet received a response regarding the refund requests.
Hyde-Smith, however, did vaguely refer to the \"public hanging\" comment and apologized at a debate with her opponent Espy last Tuesday.
\"For anyone that was offended by my comments, I certainly apologize,\" she said. \"There was no ill will, no intent, whatsoever in my statements.\"
Four days after the first video surfaced, another video from Nov. 3 was tweeted in which Hyde-Smith tells a group of supporters in Starkville, Mississippi, that it would be a “great idea” to make voting “just a little more difficult” for “liberal folks.”
Cindy Hyde-Smith on voter suppression: \"And then they remind me, that there's a lot of liberal folks in those other schools who that maybe we don't want to vote. Maybe we want to make it just a little more difficult. And I think that's a great idea.\" Nov 2nd in Columbus, MS. pic.twitter.com/OxNY77XCft
— Lamar White, Jr. (@LamarWhiteJr) November 15, 2018
Hyde-Smith’s campaign once again refused to apologize and released a statement saying, \"Obviously Sen. Hyde-Smith was making a joke and clearly the video was selectively edited.\"
Then, a photo dating back to 2014 surfaced on Facebook before the debate showing Hyde-Smith donning a Confederate soldier hat. The photo is captioned, \"Mississippi history at its best.\"
Hyde-Smith, appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant, is facing a runoff with Espy after she netted 41.4 percent of the vote on Election Day while Espy had 40.6 percent.
Kendall Karson contributed to this report.
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