Updated Nov 21, 2018

Pfizer, AT&T join Walmart in pulling support from Cindy Hyde-Smith over hanging comments

Zachary Basu

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Pfizer has joined Walmart in announcing they will withdraw campaign donations to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is currently running in Mississippi's special Senate race, over her remarks about attending a public hanging, ABC News reports. Companies including AT&T, Leidos and Boston Scientific, have requested their donations be refunded.

The backdrop: At a campaign event this month, Hyde-Smith told a supporter that if he invited her to a public hanging, she would be "on the front row." Following public backlash, Hyde-Smith in a statement that it was "an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous," Roll Call reports.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the latest company withdrawals.

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