McDaniel, reading from prepared remarks, criticized the growth of government. This apparent reference was to Waller’s willingness to allow Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (which Waller calls reform). Reeves has taken advantage of Waller’s position and called it support for expanding Obamacare. He continued to hammer that point at Thursday’s event in McDaniel’s Jones County home. “I believe you can’t be for more Obamacare expansions in Mississippi. That doesn’t mean you can’t be for raising taxes on hardworking Mississippians to grow government and the beast. Reeves stated that it was impossible to run for office and promise money to other people. McDaniel lost two U.S. Senate elections in 2014 and 2018. This endorsement comes just two weeks before the August 27 election, when voters will decide whether Waller or Reeves will be the Republican nominee to become the November governor. McDaniel said that he was warned by his friends that backing Reeves could end him in politics. He teased Wednesday’s scheduled endorsement via Facebook, criticizing Waller for his positions on expanding Medicaid and raising the fuel tax. McDaniel stated that the clear line of division is how (conservatives view the power and government). True conservatives want less government intervention, less central authority and more freedom. It is not possible to claim conservatism and support Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, or a gas tax hike.” This embrace of Reeves contrasts McDaniel’s political identity and career that was built around McDaniel’s image as a candidate who can take on the establishment. His “political outsider” message resonated with Republican voters throughout the state, as he almost defeated Thad Cochran, a long-serving U.S. Senator. He continued this message in 2018 when he ran a special U.S. Senate election for the seat Cochran left vacant after his retirement. McDaniel, who has served in the state Senate since 2008 was a vocal critic for Republican leaders. He focuses his attacks on Reeves because he is controlled by prominent families and interest groups. Reeves is supported by former governor and has received endorsements from almost every major interest group in the state. Haley Barbour is McDaniel’s longtime adversary. McDaniel wrote on Facebook, “Yes, political endorsements matter,” on July 19. “If an establishment endorses someone, you should be aware that the establishment owns the candidate. These backroom deals come with a price. These backroom deals come with a price. McDaniel stated that “no one is more dissatisfied” than himself with Reeves, while Reeves said: “It comes as no surprise or surprise to anybody here today or anyone watching that Chris and me hadn’t always agreed upon every single issue and were not always on the same side for every race. This has led McDaniel, who was publicly discussing the possibility of running for governor just weeks after Reeves announced his candidacy. McDaniel stated to WAPT that Mississippi is, in many ways, stuck in an outdated system when he was asked if he would run. McDaniel said that McDaniel had a disproportionate amount of power because McDaniel tried to exert some influence on Mississippi politics and policy. McDaniel formed the Conservative Coalition in 2013 in response to Reeves’ heavy-handed leadership of the state Senate. This was a temporary caucus made up of 11 Republican senators that Reeves had excluded from the legislative process. Reeves publicly supported Cochran when McDaniel was facing Cochran during the bitter 2014 Republican election. McDaniel was defeated in that race. Reeves, who is president of the state Senate, and acts as the intermediary between what legislation dies or lives in the upper chamber, decimated any influence McDaniel had previously enjoyed in the Legislature. McDaniel has written more than 225 bills since that 2014 bitter Senate race. Only two of them made it to the Governor. Phil Bryant signed two of them: one was a commendation to the 2014 Laurel High School football teams state championship win, the other commended Erin Morgan, Laurel native, who was crowned Miss Hospitality 2015. McDaniel admitted that he had paid a heavy price for being a troublemaker in Reeves’ side. McDaniel was also boasting about McDaniel’s defeats. McDaniel claimed that Reeves had blocked his bill to establish a closed primary system for Mississippi during the 2015 legislative session. McDaniel’s claim was laughed at by Reeves office. Reeves spokeswoman Laura Hipp stated that McDaniel, like every other senator, has the chance to convince his fellow senators about the merits of any bills he files. “At the end, the only way for public policy to be affected is by rolling up your sleeves, and putting in hard work legislating,” McDaniel said in a 2018 interview with U.S. News & World Report. McDaniel stated that Reeves has done everything he could since ’14 to ensure my legislation does not see the light. McDaniel said that “if I introduce a bill within a post-2014 environment, the establishment will give the order that, if my name was the primary author, that bill be killed.” McDaniel discussed McDaniel’s possible bid to become a governor in 2019. McDaniel’s Thursday endorsement of Reeves could be a boon for Reeves, especially in the Pine Belt. McDaniel retains a lot of political influence in Jones County where nearly 14,000 Republican primary voters cast ballots August 6. McDaniel won 49 percent of the vote for the 2018 Senate special election in Jones County, his highest county performance. On August 6, more than half of Jones County voters voted against Reeves, including 4,100 who voted in support of Waller. Reeves said that McDaniel’s belief in conservative principles was never challenged by him, but they had their differences. We are on the same side in this race for governor,” he said. “We share a belief that government is not an answer. I strongly believe that we’re in a crossroads within our state and in our party. As a conservative party, we have to decide: Will we be Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump? Or will we be like Bill Weld, John Kasich, and other never Trumpers?