Randle, a 31 year-old Oxford resident, and Amory native, said that his motivation to run was motivated by Hyde-Smith’s reputation after a difficult 2018 campaign. Randle stated in a statement that Mississippi needs a Republican senator with fresh ideas, a clear vision and the ability to take our state forward. We need a senator who can be effective and accessible, as well as one that projects a positive image for Mississippi on the national stage. Mississippi deserves better. I look forward exploring whether I’m the right person for me to run.” Randle would be facing Hyde-Smith during a March 2020 primary. Hyde-Smith was appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant was appointed by Gov. to temporarily replace Sen. Thad Cochran. He was then elected to the remaining six-year term of Cochran in November 2018. This term expires in 2020. Hyde Smith faced criticism from across the country during her 2018 campaign. She said at a rally that she would attend “public hanging.” National journalists descended upon Mississippi to cover the special election raceoff with Mike Espy (a former Democratic Congressman). Espy is a black man who used Hyde Smith’s remarks to highlight the state’s history of lynchings while on the campaign trail. Espy announced Tuesday that he will be running again for the seat in 2020. Several national corporations that contributed to Hyde-Smith’s campaign have publicly requested their money back after her comments. Randle is the second Republican who has publicly suggested a primary challenge to Hyde-Smith. Gerard Gibert, a Ridgeland millionaire businessman, told Jacinto in July that he would consider a primary challenge to Hyde-Smith. Interesting #MSSen news: Gerard Gibert (a businessman who sold his tech company recently for millions) is speaking at Jacinto. He said he is considering a 2020 Senate run against Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith.

“I’m not yet a candidate for office, but I could be.” pic.twitter.com/5yUv98iGGw Randle, who moved from Washington, D.C., to Oxford earlier this year with his wife, Alex, owns a consulting firm. According to records from the Secretary of State, Randle registered his Mississippi firm in March 2017. Randle was made the youngest president of Miss America Organization in 2017 at 29 years old. However, Randle resigned less then a year later following emails leaked by Sam Haskell (also a Mississippian) that showed Haskell and other top executives at Miss America targeted past winners for abuse based upon their intelligence, appearance and sex lives. Randle wrote in an email to HuffPost that he said one contestant was “a healthy” and was apparently referring to the contestant’s weight. Randle resigned from the organization in December 2017. Randle stated that while I believed it was wrong for my personal email to be released to a reporter with biased agendas, he acknowledged his temporary lapse in judgment. Randle made this statement to Mississippi Today this past week. It does not reflect my core values, as I have shown throughout my life. Although my involvement was limited to one reply, as I wasn’t yet employed by Miss America, I sincerely apologized to the person that sent the email. “We all make mistakes. Our ability to learn from them is what ultimately defines our character.” Randle was previously the first chief executive officer of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Foundation USA. This foundation is one of the most important charities of the British Royal Family. To be eligible for the race, candidates for Mississippi’s U.S. Senate or congressional races in 2020 have until January 10, 2020. The Republican and Democratic primaries are scheduled for March 10, 2020. The general election will take place on November 3, 2020.