JACKSON, Miss. — It’s 93 degrees with 99 percent humidity, and it’s the weekend. That means the streets of the state capital are empty as everyone escapes to a lake, their favorite watering hole, the Gulf of Mexico, or the ultimate in heat relief: air-conditioning.
Unless, of course, you are running for office. “Oh, it’s just a little humid,” says Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith laughing; she is running late from her last event, so we talk by phone.
Hyde-Smith, a Republican, was appointed to the U.S. Senate in April by Gov. Phil Bryant after then-Sen. Thad Cochran had to resign due to illness. At age 80, Cochran served more than 40 years between the upper and lower chambers, making him one of the longest-serving members of Congress ever.
In November, Hyde-Smith, a former state agriculture commissioner, will have to defend her seat in a special election against not only a fellow Republican, Chris McDaniel — a Tea Party state senator —but also two Democrats: Mike Espy, who was a secretary of agriculture in the Clinton administration and a former member of the House, and Tobey Bartee, who is a former military intelligence analyst.
It’s called a “jungle primary.” On Election Day, Nov. 6, all the candidates will be on the same ballot.
“It will be the four of us,” Hyde-Smith says, “two Democrats and two Republicans…. If someone gets 50 percent plus one, it will be decided that day.”
“But if no one hits that threshold,” Hyde-Smith explains, the top two candidates advance to a Nov. 27 runoff.
Hyde-Smith is among a solid team of Republican women running for U.S. Senate this year that includes Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona, Minnesota state senator Karin Housley, and state senator Leah Vukmir of Wisconsin.
But for Hyde-Smith, that’s not enough. “We need more women in our party running. The challenge is how do we cultivate that? When the governor first asked me to consider the Senate seat, I realized the amount of Republican women in the U.S. Senate fit in a Toyota Corolla. It is pretty incredible to think that, out of 100 senators, there are only six Republican women,” she said.
She also enjoys the backing of President Trump, who tweeted out his support for her over the firebrand Daniels in the jungle primary. Trump was scheduled to hold a rally for her, but had to be rescheduled because of Hurricane Florence.
Hers is not the only Senate race in the state. Incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Wicker is up for reelection, facing Democrat state Rep. David Baria. That race is ranked “solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report, while Hyde-Smith’s race is rated a less-solid “likely Republican” — thanks in part to the national mood and the drama of a jungle election.
Hyde-Smith says the economy, trade, and conservative Supreme Court appointments are very important to the voters in Mississippi. “And, of course, immigration — building the wall, security on our border — is an important topic here as well,” she says of her discussions with voters.
The sharpest elbows aren’t coming from the Democrats on the ballot, but from McDaniel, a Republican who often is more angry at his party than not. In 2014, when McDaniel was busy forcing Cochran into a run-off, he earned the support of then-private citizen Trump who tweeted, “I hope voters in Mississippi cast their ballot for @senatormcdaniel and forced Cochran into a run-off and He is strong, he is smart & he wants things to change in Washington.”
Now the president, with much more political clout than he had four years ago, Trump endorsed Hyde-Smith in a series of tweets.
“@cindyhydesmith has helped me put America First! She’s strong on the Wall, is helping me create Jobs, loves our Vets and fights for our conservative judges” and finished with she “has voted for our Agenda in the Senate 100% of the time and has my complete and total Endorsement.”
“I was sitting on the Senate floor when the tweet came across, which was pretty incredible, and I felt like it was a very strong statement of his unwavering, 100 percent support,” she said.
After Trump’s tweets, McDaniel took to his Facebook page writing: “The people of Mississippi know I’m the only conservative in this race. They know I’ll be the toughest fighter for President Trump’s America First agenda and I look forward to working together with him very soon to continue making America great.”
“We all know how the establishment operates when it comes these endorsements,” he said. “I’m sure Mitch McConnell lobbied the President extremely hard to support his handpicked Senator, a lifelong Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton.”
The Clinton voting accusation is an often repeated tirade from McDaniel that has no basis in truth, says Hyde-Smith: “I was on Trump’s Agricultural Advisory Committee when he was a candidate. I never voted for Hillary Clinton. It is the biggest lie that Chris McDaniel has ever told.”
Hyde-Smith was a Democrat until she switched parties in 2010. “Being a former Democrat is such a non-issue. I have such a strong conservative voting record in the state senate for three terms,” she said of her time in the Mississippi state legislature, a seat she first ran for in 1999.
“It’s been a big wave in Mississippi to switch from Democrat to Republican. And I’ve been at this a long time.”
Hyde-Smith is the frontrunner, but she is taking nothing for granted against McDaniel or Espy. Espy, the Democrat, has attracted high-profile endorsements from former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and current New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker — both up and coming Democratic rock stars and probable presidential contenders.
In a fluid year where the balance of the Senate is in doubt, Mississippi will more than likely stay in Republican hands. But the 50th seat might not be determined until the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, in which case, Cindy Hyde-Smith will become a household name.
