Baria, 55 years old, was born in Escatawpa but grew up on Coast. This announcement came just two days after Chris McDaniel, state senator, made his candidacy formal in Ellisville. McDaniel made a distinction between “us”, those who believe in his conservatism, and “them”, all who don’t. Baria, who was standing on the Hancock County Courthouse steps, rebuked McDaniel’s us-vs.-themism attitude and inability to compromise. “I believe we should fight together as Mississippians, because if this ship sinks it affects all of us. Baria stated that there can’t be more of us and them in the fight for our jobs, schools, and hospitals. Baria is the most well-known of all the Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate. His Democratic House colleague, Rep. Omeria, is also in the field, as well as Jensen Bohren from Benton, Jerone Galrland of Kosciusko, and Victor Maurice, Pass Christian. Baria’s platform was heavily populated with populist themes like rebuilding roads and bridges and railways and protecting hospitals, jobs, and the economy. Baria stated that “we’ve fallen short on creating and maintaining basic ingredients for success.” “Our current leadership paints an optimistic picture of our country and state. The stock market is up, and the unemployment rate is down. We also hear that good jobs will return anytime soon if we give corporations another tax cut. He continued, “Wages aren’t rising fast enough for inflation to keep pace with and we’ve seen a decrease in our labor force by nearly 70,000 Mississippians between 2010 and now.” These numbers aren’t encouraging, but we have an incredible potential in Mississippi.” “Having worked in the hyperpartisan Mississippi Legislature may have prepared Baria for the hyperpartisanship of Congress,” said Rep. Sonya Wiliams-Barnes, leader of the legislative black Caucus. Wiliams Barnes stated that Baria is a Republican majority member, but continues to “represent our poorest and most vulnerable.” William-Barnes stated that he provides advice and camaraderie to those on opposing sides of the aisle, as well as providing support. He also works the process to benefit the state’s citizens. Baria said Mississippi’s leaders have not responded to “brain drain”, a phenomenon that results in talented people leaving the state. Everyone talks about the state’s brain drain and how it has affected its economy, but current leaders are unable to find a solution. Sometimes I doubt they even want to search for one. We’re losing a generation bright young entrepreneurs, doctors and computer scientists because we have failed create the kind of Mississippi where they want it to be,” Baria stated. Baria, if he wins the Democratic primary, would have to climb up against a Republican opponent. This could be the incumbent, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, and McDaniel. In the past ten years, the most votes a Democrat collected in a Senate race was in 2008 when Ronnie Musgrove, former governor, won 45 percent of the votes in an election in which Barack Obama was also on the ballot. This is a challenge that even Baria’s loyal supporters are aware of. John Fulwiler and Madeleine Fulwiler were present at the campaign event. They pointed out the recent Alabama Senate race, in which Democrat Doug Jones defeated former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore. A number of reports alleged that Moore had abused women and dated girls under age in the weeks preceding that race. Madeleine Fulwiler stated, “Yeah. We’re looking at it thinking that that happened there. However, I don’t know if the Republican candidates are so bad as Roy Moore.” John Fulwiler stated that he believes Chris McDaniel will run and the roaches would come out of the wall regarding some of the issues the party is dealing with. He also said that David could benefit from some of those opportunities. He said: “I believe for David to have candidates running on Democratic side will help him get better name recognition in northern part of state.” Baria is also fighting against an economy that is relatively strong, especially here in Mississippi. The state has the highest unemployment levels in the country, but it is experiencing the lowest unemployment rates in decades, something the Republican leadership frequently points out. Baria stated that a U.S. Senate race gives you the opportunity to reach many people and tell the truth. The governor spins these numbers because he wants to tell his story of success. Our unemployment rate is actually lower because there are fewer people trying for jobs in Mississippi. This is the brain drain. Through this race, I will hopefully have a platform to speak out about the truth. We can make changes if people can see the truth and accept it.