/McDaniel now running to replace Cochran

McDaniel now running to replace Cochran

McDaniel is an arch-conservative, who for months has mounted a Senate campaign to defeat Washington’s Republican establishment. He made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, only two weeks after he announced his challenge to Wicker. McDaniel stated in a release that he was asking Mississippi Republicans to announce his candidacy early and forbid another contest among GOP members. This would only increase the Democrats’ chances at winning the open seat. “If we unify the party and consolidate resources, Donald Trump will have someone who will stand by him,” McDaniel said in a release. Wicker spent weeks bombarding state media with ads, questioning McDaniel about his loyalty to Donald Trump. Trump had already endorsed Wicker just two weeks before McDaniel announced his campaign. McDaniel’s flip shakes things up, with both U.S. Senate seat up for grabs the same night as November. Cochran’s resignation, effective April 1, was announced February 5th and will require a special election to fill the seat on November 6. The special election will not have a primary. Instead, anyone who qualifies will run on that day. A runoff will be held two weeks later, two days before Thanksgiving, if no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote. Many potential candidates have suggested that they might be interested in the vacant seat, including Mike Espy (ex-Democratic Congressman) and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary. Governor. Phil Bryant has a period of 10 days to appoint a temporary holder within the office. According to reports, McDaniel’s supporters have repeatedly asked for McDaniel to be reappointed by the governor. McDaniel will not be a part of the regular scheduled election for the Senate seat currently held by Wicker. In the Republican primary, Wicker will be facing Richard Boyanton, a Gulf Coast businessman. There were several Democratic candidates for Wicker’s seat, including David Baria (Democratic leader in the state House of Representatives), long-serving state Rep. Omeria Scot; Howard Sherman (a venture capitalist married to Sela Ward); Jensen Bohren of Benton, Jerone Garland of Kosciusko, and Victor Maurice of Pass Christian. McDaniel rose to prominence in 2014 after he defeated Cochran in the Republican primaries. However, he failed to win the majority of votes necessary to win the Republican primary. After a three-week long runoff, Cochran won the election amid claims that Democrats improperly voted for McDaniel over Cochran. There was also a darker side of that primary. It featured intense mud-slinging, and scandalous photos taken by McDaniel supporters. These photos were taken of Cochran’s wife, who was in a nursing facility bed. Many McDaniel supporters claimed that the election was stolen. McDaniel never conceded the race, and unsuccessfully challenged court results. McDaniel spent the months following the loss building and maintaining his base of Mississippi voters, who have grown tired of Washington’s power structure. McDaniel supported Trump’s candidacy, which he easily won Mississippi’s support.