Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is expected to appoint Republican state Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith on Wednesday to succeed Thad Cochran in the U.S. Senate when the incumbent, battling health issues, resigns at month’s end.
Bryant was searching for a consensus conservative that could mount a strong campaign in the November special election and fend off insurgent Republican Chris McDaniel. The state senator, who entered the race earlier this month, came within a hair of ousting Cochran in a primary early four years ago.
Republican insiders in Mississippi and Washington generally were opposed to McDaniel’s candidacy.
Pointing to the Democratic upset in a special Senate election in Alabama last year, they worry that the gaffe-prone politician could jeopardize the party’s hold on Cochran’s seat. They expressed confidence that Hyde-Smith is up to the twin task of defeating McDaniel and any Democratic challenge that might materialize.
“She’s no placeholder,” said a Republican operative with Mississippi ties who spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment was not yet official. “She’s a ball of fire; she’s an ass kicker.”
“I have had the privilege of voting for her twice,” added Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who signaled his endorsement but said he would have more to say after the Bryant introduced Hyde-Smith on Wednesday.
Under Mississippi law, candidates that qualify for the special election run in an open primary, held the same day as the November general election, with the top two vote-getters advancing to a runoff a few weeks later.
Bryant was trying to reach President Trump to discuss the Hyde-Smith appointment and garner his approval. Politico reported that the White House informed the governor that the president would not endorse her, concerned she might not be the best candidate. But Bryant was moving forward nonetheless, with an announcement planned for 1 p.m. Eastern Time in Brookhaven, Miss., Hyde-Smith’s home town.
The move was met with immediate opposition from McDaniel, who shifted gears and entered the special election after first announcing he would challenge Wicker in the states regularly scheduled Senate primary in June.
In an open letter to Trump issued by the McDaniel campaign, more than 100 of the state senator’s supporters warned that Hyde-Smith could put Cochran’s Senate seat in jeopardy, and urged him not to listen to the poor “political advice you may be getting from leadership in Congress.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., strongly opposes McDaniel, and would likely back Hyde-Smith.
“We do not want what happened in Alabama or Pennsylvania-18 to happen here in Mississippi. Both of those races were disastrous for the Republican Party,” the letter said, referencing Democratic upsets in Alabama and the 18th Congressional District in Southwest Pennsylvania, a 20-point Trump district.
“We, the undersigned, oppose this nomination and urge you not to lend your endorsement to her campaign. Her only experience as a legislator was as a Democrat,” the letter continued. “She changed her party affiliation because she would not have won a statewide race as a Democrat. She is very unlikely to make the run-off in November, which is why we are writing to you, asking that you not lend your name to a candidate that is likely to lose.”
That appears to be McDaniel’s strategy against Hyde-Smith.
Ironically, Trump himself has longstanding Democratic ties. He donated to many prominent liberals over the years during his career as a real estate developer and reality television star. Among the recipients of Trump money: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Could the approach sway voters in Mississippi, a deep red state controlled at all levels by the GOP? Hyde-Smith was a Democrat during her tenure in the state senate, before she was elected agriculture commissioner as a Republican. Trump appears anxious that it might. However, Republicans supportive of Bryant’s pick argue otherwise.
“People who are saying Hyde-Smith being a conservative Democrat 10 years ago is some sort of fatal flaw are conducting lazy analysis or have an ulterior motive,” a Republican connected to the state party said. “McDaniel’s No. 1 issue for his anti-establishment credentials was his battle with Gov. Haley Barbour over eminent domain. Well, Cindy led that fight, so he has no contrast with her on it.”
Al Weaver contributed to this report.
