This response shows how Espy’s campaign is different from past statewide Democratic candidates. Espy released a statement shortly after receiving the endorsement, saying that it was an honor to be endorsed by the 44th president of America. “President Barack Obama was a man of dignity and effective governance. “He is remembered and will be remembered as a very great president.” Last year, the gubernatorial candidate of Democrat Jim Hood worked hard for the secret transmission of a recorded telephone call to approximately 280,000 households. The recording included a plea from the nation’s first African American president to encourage people to vote in favor Hood. The Hood campaign strategically distributed the Obama robocall one day before the election. They didn’t want Mississippians to hear about the endorsement. Hood didn’t dislike Obama and was not ashamed of his support. Like many other statewide Democrats, the Hood campaign concluded that being tied with national party members negatively affected their chances of winning in majority Republican Mississippi. Michael Rejebian, a Jackson-based consultant and political strategist, was a key member the Hood campaign. He said that working simultaneously to enthuse Mississippi’s Democratic Party base, which is overwhelmingly Black, and to attract moderately white voters was like trying “thread a needle” during the election. Rejebian spoke on Mississippi Today’s The Other Side podcast shortly afterwards the 2019 election. We knew from the beginning that we could not win with our base. To win, we needed moderate white voters. This requires certain actions. It is important to appeal to them in ways that might not appeal or appeal to the base voters… We had to say no. They were going to try to make us feel bad. Espy stated early that he wouldn’t run for national Democrats or any of their progressive ideas. This was done to appeal to new voters, many of whom had never voted in previous elections due to their belief that Mississippi Democratic candidates were too conservative. Many people, both left and right, thought Espy was abandoning this strategy after he aired a TV commercial in which he highlighted how he worked with Republican President Ronald Reagan as well as Sen. Thad Crochran during his time as the first African American state representative in modern times. This theory is blown apart by Espy’s enthusiastic embrace of Obama this week. Espy has not said that he would agree on all issues with Barack Obama, Joe Biden, or Kamala Harris, but he made it clear that he supports Democrats. He still repeats the refrain “I will remain an independent voice at the Senate — whatever best serves Mississippi.” It remains to be seen if Espy’s endorsement of the national Democratic Party in his race with Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith is a winning formula. Hyde-Smith remains the clear favorite. Espy, however, has a 3-to-1 cash advantage that no other statewide Democrat had in recent elections. Many believe that Hyde-Smith cannot lose, even though many people will vote for Trump. It is reasonable to expect that not many people will vote for Trump or Espy. One caveat that might give Espy hope is that 44,000 more people voted in 2008 for Republican nominee John McCain than for Republican Roger Wicker. Wicker was challenged for the vacant U.S. Senate seat. Ronnie Musgrove. In total, 46,500 more people voted for the Senate election than the presidential. Hyde-Smith beat Espy almost 66,000 votes in the 2018 special election to succeed long-serving Sen. Cochran. The 2020 U.S. Senate Election could be very close if there are enough Trump supporters who only vote for Trump and not vote in the Senate race. It is possible that Espy’s strategy to seek out support from national Democrats was successful.