Watson texted McDaniel, “Chris has any interest in speaking to Phil?” McDaniel has been an irritant to establishment Republicans in Mississippi for years. McDaniel has built his political career by destroying figures like Hyde Smith. The traumatic effects of McDaniel’s 2014 victory and the subsequent split of the GOP still haunt GOP operatives. McDaniel’s inability gain traction in polls over recent weeks led Republican Party insiders to stop asking “Can McDaniel defeat us on November 6,?” and instead asked “Can we win the November 27 election without McDaniel’s help?” Bryant would almost certainly have wanted to have a conversation with McDaniel about this second question. McDaniel was the first to speak on the stage. Bryant and other party insiders at Hyde-Smith headquarters, Jackson, gathered around laptops and phones to view McDaniel’s concession speech livestreamed. Bryant didn’t push McDaniel. McDaniel stated, “We now need to unite,” to the crowd of disappointed and teary-eyed supporters. “Mr. Espy cannot win this seat. Trump wants us all to unite. We will. Cindy Hyde Smith will be supported. But I disagree with her. She is not the conservative in this state, I believe. However, I can assure you that Mike Espy does not belong anywhere near the United States Senate. Trump is now our unit. Republicans let out a deep sigh of relief as they realized that Trump’s party had united to fight for them. According to preliminary results, Hyde Smith had a narrow margin of 7,000 votes over Espy on Tuesday night. Hyde Smith will face Espy in a runoff Nov. 27. If McDaniel had not directly appealed to the 145,000 Mississippians that voted for him, their chances of winning would have been even more complicated. Bryant spoke at the Hyde Smith watch party stage, just minutes after McDaniel’s concession speech. Bryant stated that “Before we get too busy talking about Democrats. I want to thank Chris McDaniel.” “I saw him on Facebook a while back and he said that it was time for us all to unite. Chris was a young senator during my tenure as lieutenant governor. Although we don’t all agree on everything, neither do I nor (First Lady) Deborah. We do agree that Mike Espy does not need to be within 100 miles of America’s Capitol. It’s not happening.” Prior to November 6, Republicans did little to counter Espy’s message. GOP operatives saw Election Day as a pseudo Republican primary. They knew that once McDaniel was over, they could now turn their full attention to Espy. Republicans are now focusing their attention on Espy with a united front. A pro-Hyde-Smith Super PAC, the Mississippi Victory Fund, began airing attacks ads on radio and television throughout the state starting Wednesday morning. The ad’s narration states that “Espy will vote against the Trump agenda, aligning itself with the leftist mob who opposed the President.” “Espy has already sided with radical left and opposed Judge Kavanaugh. They will next demand that he support open borders, and abolish ICE. The choice is clear on November 27 – say no Mike Espy.” Bryant stated that McDaniel would join Hyde Smith’s campaign for a bus tour of the state. McDaniel called Wednesday afternoon to confirm the idea, but he said he hadn’t spoken to either the governor or anyone from the Hyde Smith campaign about the bus tour. McDaniel stated that he was open to helping in any way. McDaniel stated that while she doesn’t believe she is the conservative Mississippi needs but that Mr. Espy’s political philosophy is dangerous. “I’m willing (Hyde Smith) to help.” Mississippi Today has full coverage of the historic runoff between Cindy Hyde Smith and Mike Espy.