President Trump on Thursday endorsed Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., the party establishment’s preferred candidate in a closely watched special election in Mississippi, possibly crushing the hopes of conservative firebrand state Sen. Chris McDaniel.
Trump offered his seal of approval to Hyde-Smith in an afternoon Twitter thread. The move no doubt pleased the senator’s campaign, which had sought the president’s endorsement for months. Mississippi GOP Gov. Phil Bryant, who appointed Hyde-Smith after Republican Thad Cochran resigned from the Senate early this year, also has to be relieved.
[Previous coverage: Chris McDaniel’s insurgent Mississippi campaign hits a roadblock]
“Cindy has voted for our Agenda in the Senate 100% of the time and has my complete and total Endorsement. We need Cindy to win in Mississippi!” Trump tweeted.
“I am honored that President Trump has endorsed me in this race for U.S. Senate. I have voted consistently for his agenda because I believe he is taking the right steps to make this country great again — lowering taxes, securing the border and nominating true conservatives to the Supreme Court,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement.
Trump’s endorsement, though not totally unexpected, has to be disappointing for McDaniel. The Republican is attempting to outflank Hyde-Smith on the Right by accusing her of insufficient loyalty to the president’s agenda. It hasn’t worked so far, and Trump backing the senator over McDaniel could put him further in the hole as Election Day approaches. In a tweet, McDaniel attempted to downplay the significance of Trump’s endorsement of his opponent.
“Mississippians know I’m the only conservative in this race,” McDaniel said. “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.”
Voters in the special Senate election to choose a permanent successor to Cochran pull the lever on Nov. 6, the same day as the regular midterm elections, with the top two finishers proceeding to a winner-take-all runoff a few weeks later.
The initial vote functions like an open primary. Democrat Mike Espy is running, and Republican insiders in Mississippi and Washington worried that if McDaniel advanced to a runoff with Espy, the Democrat might beat him.
McDaniel has a history of making provocative statements and other controversies. He nearly defeated Cochran in the 2014 Republican primary, but lost in the runoff after narrowly winning round one. He came up short in part because the GOP establishment worked hard to harness Democratic votes in the runoff to help stop McDaniel, believing that he was a weak candidate who might lose to the Democratic nominee in the general election.
McDaniel initially jumped into the primary contest to challenge Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who is on the regular 2018 ballot. After Cochran announced he would resign, McDaniel jumped to the special election. Hyde-Smith served as the state agriculture commissioner prior to Bryant appointing her to the Senate.
