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WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Thad Cochran's GOP primary victory, thanks in part to black Mississippians who turned out to vote for him, exemplifies a new math that politicians of all persuasions may be forced to learn as this country's voting population slowly changes complexion.

Cochran's campaign courted black voters, perceiving their unhappiness with his tea party-supported opponent, Chris McDaniel, and his anti-government rhetoric and scathing criticisms of President Barack Obama. Blacks responded by turning out to help give Cochran an almost 7,000-vote win. The use of Mississippi's open primary to further their agenda showed political maturity by black voters and debunked a longstanding belief that they obediently vote Democratic and not according to their own interests.

They turned out for a primary runoff with no Democratic candidate involved. And they voted Republican even though the smart play for the Democrats would have been to usher McDaniel to victory and create a more winnable contest for Democrat Travis Childers in November.

"I think that Thad Cochran is a shot across the bow to be felt for a long time," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was the first minority presidential candidate to win a statewide primary or caucus in 1984 and 1988. "You cannot win in the new South or win in national elections with all-white primaries. This is a new America today."

Tests of this assertion are coming next month in Alabama and Georgia, also Southern states with large minority populations and open primaries. The Mississippi race may be a harbinger of more strategic voting for minority voters, especially African Americans, said D'Andra Orey, a political science professor at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.

"This is not a one-time situation," Orey said. "Blacks do recognize their power in the vote, and in this particular case, blacks saw that they could actually defeat or be a strong influence ... in defeating McDaniel."

In Mississippi, which is 38 percent black and on track to become the country's first majority-black state, some black voters said they planned to support Cochran, a six-term incumbent, again in November. Others said they would keep their options open in November or vote for the Democrat, even though they considered Cochran a better choice than McDaniel in the red state.

"I just think that McDaniel did as much for the Cochran turnout in the black community as Cochran people did," said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi's sole black congressman.

Agitating minority voters may soon prove politically risky anywhere in the nation: The numbers of black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American voters are growing not only in presidential election years but in off-cycle elections as well, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In presidential election years, the percentage of black voters eclipsed the percentage of whites for the first time in 2012, when 66.2 percent of blacks voted, compared to 64.1 percent of non-Hispanics whites and about 48 percent of Hispanics and Asians.

The number of African-American and other minority voters has also been increasing during off-cycle, non-presidential elections. For example, in the 2010 congressional and statewide elections, 47.8 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 40.7 percent of blacks, 21.3 percent of Asians and 20.5 percent of Hispanics voted.

But the only groups to increase their numbers were blacks and Hispanics, who voted at 38.6 percent and 19.3 percent respectively in 2006 congressional and statewide elections. The white and Asian participation rate dropped during that same time period from 50.5 percent and 21.8 percent.

And black participation in off-year elections has been steadily increasing since 1994, when it was 37.1 percent. In 1998, it 39.6 percent, in 2002 39.7 percent and a slight dip in 2006 at 38.6 percent. No other group showed a similar increase.

Black voting increased during the Mississippi GOP primary. Statewide turnout increased by almost 70,000 votes over the June 3 primary, with turnout in majority-black counties growing by 43 percent, while in counties where blacks are less than a majority, it grew 17 percent.

Carol M. Swain, a law and political science professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, doubted those voters would become Republicans but said they could become swing voters in some races. "I believe they may have purchased some influence with the Republican establishment that could benefit blacks in the long run," Swain said.

Democrats, in return, plan to address more African American issues in upcoming campaign, but they have been warned not to take those votes for granted. At a recent meeting with black journalists and advocates, several U.S. senators were warned that some black voters had noticed that Democrats had no problem talking about veterans' issues, women's issues or LBGT issues, but seemed hesitant to talk about and address black issues on the Senate floor.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said he could understand how "off-putting" it could be that Democrats "are all about equality and all about the big tent, but we're talking about other folks and not us," a loyal voting base.

"I hadn't really thought about our strong advocacy on these diversity issues actually could have an undercurrent of 'We must not be that important because you're not talking about us the same way,'" Kaine said.

Recognition of that can only be a good thing for minority voters, Swain said.

"The positive thing to come out of this is that more white candidates and incumbents will campaign among black voters, and maybe they will deliver more," she said.

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Follow Jesse J. Holland on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland

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Associated Press reporters Andrew Taylor and Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta in Washington, and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

LONDON (AP) — Australian Open champion and second-seeded Li Na was eliminated 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) on Friday by Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the first major upset at Wimbledon.

Li, who had advanced to the quarterfinals three times before at Wimbledon, looked out of sorts for most of the third-round match on Court 1. She blew a set point in the second set.

In men's play, top-seeded Novak Djokovic overcame a hard fall in the third set to advance to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 Centre Court win over Gilles Simon.

Leading 3-2 in the third set and with Simon serving, Djokovic lunged for a forehand shot and fell hard to the grass, rolling over and grabbing his upper left arm and grimacing in pain.

But after receiving medical treatment, he recovered to play out the match, breaking Simon's serve in the final game, his seventh break in the match.

"It was a sharp pain," Djokovic said. "It was an awkward fall. I was just hoping there is nothing really bad with the joint. Luckily there is nothing damaged. I could play. Just the muscle was quite sore because of the impact. All in all I'm just glad to get through."

In other men's play, No. 19 Feliciano Lopez of Spain beat Ante Pavic of Croatia 6-4, 7-6 (4) 7-5 in a second-round match and Kevin Anderson beat Fabio Fognini of Italy 4-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round.

Anderson, who won 10 of the last 11 games, is the first South African to advance to the fourth round at Wimbledon since Wayne Ferreira in 2000. He's reached the fourth round of his last three Grand Slams.

In a second-round match carried over from Thursday due to rain, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia beat No. 30 Marcel Granollers of Spain 4-6, 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Earlier, French Open finalist Simona Halep and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki won their matches after rain delayed the start of play for about 30 minutes.

Halep, who lost the Roland Garros final to Maria Sharapova, advanced with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in a second-round match. Wozniacki moved into the fourth round following a 6-3, 6-0 win over Ana Konjuh of Croatia.

No. 22-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia beat Caroline Garcia of France 7-5, 6-3, and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland defeated Victoria Duval of the United States 6-4, 7-5.

Later Friday, defending champion Andy Murray took a 15-match winning streak at the All England Club into the third round against 27th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

Murray won six matches in a row at the place to earn a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, then seven in a row during Wimbledon last year en route to the title, plus another two so far this week.

HONOLULU (AP) — Jurors who decided the fate of a former soldier convicted of killing his 5-year-old daughter said their labored deliberations ended with eight of them wanting him sentenced to death and four of them wanting him to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Because they couldn't agree, Naeem Williams will be sentenced to life in prison without possibility for release for the 2005 beating death of his daughter, Talia.

Weighing the decision meant considering the violent beatings Williams said he inflicted on Talia to discipline her for bathroom accidents, graphic descriptions that one juror said will haunt him forever.

"I have a 4 1/2-year-old granddaughter, and for the rest of my life in her I'm going to see the girl," juror Clarence Kaona told The Associated Press. "I'll never get those autopsy pictures out of my mind."

He voted for the death penalty.

"I'm a little disappointed," he said. "I feel like we let the girl down."

It was the same jury that convicted Williams of murder in April that deliberated for about seven days before deciding they couldn't agree on a sentence. An indication of their turmoil was their announcement that they had reached their verdict Thursday afternoon but wanted to wait until Friday morning to read it because some of them were "emotionally drained."

The concept of sending someone to his death is unfamiliar in Hawaii, where capital punishment was abolished in 1957, before the islands became a state. But this jury had to make that decision because Williams' crime occurred in military housing and he was tried in the federal court system, where the death penalty is available.

"It is difficult to obtain a death penalty in a state such as Hawaii where the people have not voted for the death penalty on a state level," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.

"This is a difficult crime, a child, but the death penalty is a huge step," he said. "It's a punishment that for some states is outside of their standards."

U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright set an Oct. 14 hearing to formally sentence Williams.

Williams was bracing for the death penalty, his attorney John Philipsborn said. "Both of us were relieved," Philipsborn said. "I think he was very grateful for the outcome."

After the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Ching, who handled the case, and Florence Nakakuni, the U.S. attorney for Hawaii, hugged outside the courtroom. Ching got a kiss from his wife.

"We put forth the best case we had, and we respect the verdict," said Steve Mellin, trial attorney with the Justice Department's capital case section.

Talia's mother, Tarshia Williams, told the AP by phone she was glad her daughter got justice.

"Even though they're deadlocked, I still feel that I've got some kind of closure that the trial is finally over, because I had to wait nine long years, and that was hard," she said.

She said she believes the government could have done more to help her daughter, since military police had shown up at the house for various domestic incidents. Williams has a lawsuit pending against the U.S. government that was put on hold pending the criminal trial. The government has denied that officials failed to protect Talia from the abuse that caused her death.

Williams and Talia's stepmother, Delilah Williams, testified that they beat the girl almost daily during the seven months she lived with them in Hawaii.

During the sentencing phase, Naeem Williams' family, including his 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, told jurors they love him and that his life has value. Naeem Williams read a statement to jurors apologizing for killing Talia and asking them to let him live.

The deliberation process required the jurors to consider a long list of mitigating factors the defense presented as reasons to spare his life — including physical discipline his stepfather inflicted, his overseas Army service, and his low IQ. According to the special findings form the jury filled out, all 12 jurors believed the stepfather's discipline, military service and never knowing his biological father were factors to consider. Only one juror wanted to consider his intellectual disability.

The all agreed Delilah Williams influenced the violence her husband inflicted on Talia.

Delilah Williams testified against her husband as part of a deal with prosecutors for a 20-year sentence. She provided disturbing details of abuse that included withholding food for days at a time and beating the child while she was duct-taped to a bed.

Talia died July 16, 2005, after prosecutors say her father dealt a blow so hard it left knuckle imprints on her chest.

Seabright scheduled Delilah Williams' sentencing for July 8. She didn't want her husband to get the death penalty, said her federal public defender, Alexander Silvert.

"I spoke to her today, and she was very relieved," Silvert said.

The Bureau of Prisons will determine where Naeem Williams serves his life sentence, based on factors including his security level and medical needs.

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Associated Press writers Cathy Bussewitz and Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report. Jennifer Sinco Kelleher can be reached at http://twitter.com/JenHapa .

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's feuding political leaders are under mounting pressure to set aside their differences after a call by the country's most revered Shiite cleric for an agreement on the next prime minister before parliament meets next week.

The appeal by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Friday came as the country seems increasingly in danger of falling apart, with the al-Qaida breakaway group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant having seized much of northern and western Iraq and the Kurds asserting control over long-disputed territories outside their autonomous region.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bloc won the most seats in April's election, but he is now fighting for his job, with even fellow Shiite allies and key patron Iran exploring alternatives to replace him. Critics have charged al-Maliki with monopolizing power and failing to address long-festering grievances by the Sunni minority.

But al-Maliki, who has governed the country since 2006, has proven to be a savvy and hard-nosed politician, and so far he has shown no willingness to step aside.

Less than three years after the last American troops left Iraq, Washington has found itself being pulled back in, with drones now flying over Baghdad to protect American civilians and newly deployed U.S. military forces.

Washington has stopped short of demanding al-Maliki step aside, but in what is widely seen as veiled criticism of his divisive leadership, has called for a more inclusive government.

Al-Maliki personally won the most votes in April, and his State of Law bloc won the most seats by far, but he failed to gain the majority needed to govern alone, leaving him in need of allies to retain his post.

That has set the stage for what could be months of arduous coalition negotiations. After 2010 elections, it took Iraqi politicians nine months to agree on a new prime minister. Now, unlike four years ago, the territorial cohesion of Iraq is at stake.

Seizing on the sense of urgency, Sistani called on politicians to agree on the next prime minister, parliament speaker and president by the time the new legislature meets on Tuesday, a cleric who represents him said in a Friday sermon.

Doing so would be a "prelude to the political solution that everyone seeks at the present," the cleric, Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalaie told worshippers in the holy city of Karbala.

The reclusive al-Sistani, the most revered figure among Iraqi Shiites, rarely appears or speaks in public, instead delivering messages through other clerics or, less frequently, issuing edicts.

In Washington, the Obama administration backed al-Sistani's call for Iraqi leaders to agree on a new government "without delay."

"It's my understanding he was calling for a process that's in line with the constitution, just to do it very quickly," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters. "Which we certainly agree with because we think the situation is so serious that they need to move with urgency."

Still, the probability that Iraq's deeply divided political class can mend its differences in the span of days is unlikely.

The United States and other world powers have pressed al-Maliki to reach out to the country's Sunni and Kurdish minorities. Sunnis have long complained of being discriminated against and unfairly targeted by the security forces.

The Islamic State has taken advantage of Sunni discontent to fuel its rise. The group's stunning advance earlier this month, in which it seized Iraq's second largest city Mosul and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, was made possible in part because Iraqi security forces melted away in the face of the onslaught.

The United States has already deployed 180 of 300 troops promised by President Barack Obama to assist and advise Iraqi troops. The U.S. also has started flying armed Predator drones over Baghdad to protect U.S. interests in the Iraqi capital, a Pentagon official said Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the new flights on the record.

On Friday, al-Maliki warned army commanders in televised comments that militants were likely to try to undermine security in the Iraqi capital ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary session.

But he struck an upbeat tone about the military situation, saying the armed forces have regained the initiative and are now on the offensive, citing a Thursday raid on the militant-held city of Tikrit as an example.

Two Iraqi security officials, meanwhile, said several secondhand Sukhoi fighter jets the government purchased from Russia will arrive within days at an air base in southern Iraq. Iraq's air force, which has been decimated over the past two decades, had Sukhoi jets in its fleet before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

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Associated Press writer Hamza Hendawi in Baghdad and Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.