Nathan Shrader, the Millsaps College Chair of the Department of Government and Politics, stated that he believes Hyde-Smith will be benefited by the limitations of retail campaigning due to the pandemic. Shrader stated, “In a typical campaign year it would be very beneficial for Mike Espy that there be a general souring of the leadership regarding COVID — this would help the challenger.” You can see photos of Sen. Kamala Harris with her during her visit to the state. “There is enthusiasm with Sen. Kamala Harris. These are the things that, if it weren’t for COVID campaign year would have been big notch on his belt. However, I don’t know how much of this information is reaching voters. It’s not possible to have that face-to–face interaction. There are no Neshoba County Fair speeches or opportunities for candidates to meet with voters in small groups. Cindy Hyde Smith has a weakness in this setting in my opinion, and that is Espy’s strength.” Shrader stated that he knew from the emails that his campaign was trying to do as much virtually as possible. “But I don’t know what the participation rates are in those things.” Shrader stated that Hyde-Smith’s strategy was to ride on the coattails the president. Think back to the 2018 special election – Donald Trump’s trip. His rhetoric included the phrase, “Pretend that I’m on your ballot when you vote for Cindy.” Shrader stated that Millsaps took part in polling in spring and summer and found slight movement towards Biden. However, Trump was still leading Mississippi by nine points. “Something that I see in Espy’s campaign…in 2018, his campaign felt a bit Beltway-ish. This campaign feels more Mississippi-centric, with a greater focus on Mississippi-centric issues. If he is to win, he will have to be more focused on Mississippi-centric issues. This is the opposite to the nationalization of everything we see all over. He seems to have done a good job at localizing things,” Shrader stated. He believes that voters would agree with Shrader’s request for multiple debates between the candidates. Shrader stated that he doesn’t believe it helps her (not by debating). Shrader said, “I don’t think it causes anyone to not vote for her change, but for someone on the fence –I think there could be an effect with some undecided voter. ” “I just hope that voters realize that this is an extremely important race,” Shrader added. This is not for Thad Cochran’s remaining term. This is for the full term. This is for a full term.