Hyde-Smith is now less than a month away from Election Day. She has not done any campaigning or advertising and has provided little public access online or in-person. So far, she has refused to be invited to debates with Mike Espy, a Democratic former Congressman. Hyde-Smith appeared briefly Friday afternoon at a press conference alongside Gov. Tate Reeves, Andy Gipson, the state agriculture commissioner. They briefly spoke about the long-running push for a Yazoo Backwater Pumping Project to reduce the devastating effects of flooding on the Mississippi Delta. At the press conference, the incumbent senator did not answer any questions. After the press conference, a Mississippi Today reporter asked her if she would answer a few questions about the campaign. She declined. A spokesman for Hyde-Smith told the reporter that she had another appointment. Hyde-Smith appears to be leading in polls. She has not done much public campaigning, either in person or online, during the pandemic. According to a campaign spokesperson, she is more focused on her U.S. Senate job but has also done some fundraising and virtual campaigning online. Major party challengers to incumbent U.S. Senators, including Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell have most often attended in-person events in the states they live in. Espy has attended numerous public events in person and online, and has bought statewide airtime for two television ads. His camp has criticised Hyde-Smith’s inaccessibility to voters and refusal to debate. Political commentators have speculated that Hyde Smith, who is known for making mistakes in public or media appearances in the past, hopes to take advantage of her support in Mississippi and ride it to Donald Trump’s lead. They also hope to avoid any media scrutiny. Reeves announced Friday that the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency had completed an assessment of the flooding impact in the period from late 2018 to mid-2019. He presented this information to the Army Corps of Engineers. The long-promised pumps project must be approved by the federal government. This approval has been denied in the past. Reeves, Hyde-Smith and Gipson expressed optimism about the project’s future and thanked one another for their efforts to make it happen. Hyde-Smith stated that “over half a million acres were under water for six month, and nearly 700 homes were damaged or destroyed.” MEMA also reported flooding on 548,000 acres of which 231,000 were prime crops. This was a major blow to the state’s vital agriculture industry. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the MEMA Spring Member Drive today.