After his first session in Mississippi Senate, Senator Billy Hudson, R.Hattiesburg felt a tap on the shoulder while he was reviewing legislation at his desk. He looked up to see Cindy Hyde Smith, his Democratic state senator at the time, and he smiled at him.

She said, “Hudson, you don’t have to read these bills. If I want to get you to vote yes, you’ll be slapped on your right ear. If I want to get you to vote no, then I’ll slap your right ear.

Hyde-Smith was laughing, at least regarding the ear slapping. Although it seemed unlikely that Hudson, a Republican would follow the advice of Hyde Smith, then a Democrat on voting, he said it shouldn’t._x000D

Hudson stated that she voted as conservative (or more conservative) than me in the state Senate. “I have never considered her a Democrat, moderate, or liberal. Her record is clear proof of that. Her record proves it.” State Senator Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville) has taken advantage of Hyde Smith’s past as a Democrat, and in particular her vote during the 2008 Democratic primaries. He claims Hyde Smith cast a ballot for former-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton for president. McDaniel, a Republican who is facing Hyde Smith in an officially nonpartisan Nov.6 special election, together with former U.S. Rep. Mike Espy, Tobey Bartee — hopes that Republican voters will see in Hyde Smith a power-thirsty opportunist like Clinton. McDaniel’s campaign launched a new online advertisement earlier this month. The video begins with a still image of Hillary Clinton and an audio recording of her laughing, which her critics call a cackle. Unseen, a female narrator asks “Do you want a senator who voted for Hillary Clinton?” Before Clinton’s face transforms into Hyde Smith’s. Hyde-Smith has made the Clinton thing a bit of a bete noire. She has started to punctuate her campaign speeches with denials about not voting for Clinton in the last month. When asked who she voted for in the June 2008 primary she said that it was someone who withdrew from January. Former New Mexico Governor was among the Democratic candidates that withdrew after the Iowa caucuses. Bill Richardson, Ohio U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and U.S. Senators. Chris Dodd, Mike Gravel, Mike Gravel, Joe Biden, Delaware, and John Edwards, North Carolina. Hyde-Smith stated to Mississippi Today that Chris McDaniel’s biggest lie was that he voted for Hillary Clinton. “I have never voted for Hillary Clinton.” “I never voted for Barack Obama.”

The Clinton thing, but the Clinton rumor is still valid. This is important because the race between the top two candidates will likely be a runoff. Espy, with the support of national and state Democratic Party organizations, almost guarantees one of the spots, while Hyde Smith and McDaniel fight for the heart and soul of Mississippi’s conservative coalition. McDaniel’s strategy is not working. Hyde Smith’s former Hyde Smith colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and her voting record, support Hyde Smith’s claim that she has been a conservative all her life, even though she was a Democrat for 11 years in the state Senate. According to Mississippi Statewatch data, Hyde-Smith’s 2010 legislative session record, which was still a registered Democrat in 2010, shows that only one of the 10 senators who voted the most like her — retired Sen. Tommy Dickerson — was a Democrat. According to data from Mississippi Statewatch, which tracks voting records in the Legislature, McDaniel was voted with her 81 percent of that session on non-unanimous votes. This is more than any of her Democratic counterparts.

Hyde-Smith was a Republican by the time of the next session. She voted that year with Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (R-Winona), one of the most conservative votes in the state senator, 94 percent of which was with her. Of the top 10 senators who had voting patterns that were most like hers, only one was a Democrat: Sen. Nicky Browning (R-Ecru), who is also a Republican since 2013.

Hyde-Smith said that she was “the worst Democrat Mississippi has ever seen”, during an August interview about her time in the state senate. Mike Chaney is the state insurance commissioner who was there with Hyde-Smith.

Chaney stated that although she’s not right-wing conservative, Chaney believes she is conservative. “She’s not a right-wing conservative, but she is a gun toter. This I have always loved. She understood the issues surrounding the (National Rifle Association), even though her NRA membership.

In 2013, after Gov. After Bryant signed House Bill 2, Mississippi became an open-carry state in 2013, Chaney stated that Hyde-Smith was concerned and told her she would seek an opinion from the attorney general on how to deal with the new law regarding state property she managed, such as the fairgrounds and Agriculture and Forestry Museum.

Chaney stated, “She’s very reasonable.” “And it’s ironic that Andy Gipson (the person who passed the bill) is now your commissioner of agriculture. Be careful who you vote for.”

McDaniel supporters consider Hyde-Smith’s move an attempt at banning guns from state property. In an August letter to the Meridian Star, Rick Ward of Collins wrote that Hyde Smith was “no friend” to gun-owners. Hyde Smith said she and other agency heads requested the letter as a formality. Hyde-Smith stated, “You need to understand exactly what that law is and how it could possibly affect the Ag Museum or the fairgrounds.” “There were requests to put up signs, but I declined to do so. I also refused to post signs that prohibited weapons and warned no one because there has never been any issue. This is America, and we have Second Amendment Rights.”

Hyde-Smith sponsored a bill that would allow concealed carry to be legalized, as well as another bill that would prohibit federal funding of state gun registry programs. Both were cited by the NRA in its endorsement of Hyde Smith in August. Integrity was a matter of concern Mississippi Today asked Hyde Smith what the most important quality she believed a Mississippi elected official should possess the night before she voted for Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. She quickly answered: Integrity. Vice President Mike Pence is a well-known role model. She grins when she recounts how he pinned him into the U.S. Senate last year. Anna-Michael Hyde-Smith, Hyde Smith’s teenage daughter, shared with the vice president that her family had named their dog “Pence” in honor of Donald Trump’s 2016 election. Hyde-Smith said that he was washed in blood and not water. Her Lawrence County accent added an “r” after the word washed. “He’s the real deal, and has deep convictions and he freely shares those convictions,” Hyde-Smith said. She is a Southern Baptist and often speaks out about her convictions and how they influence her policy decisions. This is something that her former state senator colleagues also believe to be true. Chaney stated that Hyde-Smith is very ethical, very, extremely ethical. “I have never heard her promise anyone anything she wouldn’t do or tell you something untruessingly. That’s a statement that you can’t make about many people. “She has an acute sense of propriety and of doing the right thing in the right moment.” Former colleagues claimed that Hyde-Smith’s convictions made them a pragmatic pragmatist. Hyde Smith was a great negotiator, according to both Chaney and Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs.

“She is able to bring all parties to the table, and lead the negotiations. Flaggs stated that she helped to facilitate a compromise. Flaggs stated that she knew when to hold them and when to fold them.

Hyde-Smith, when asked, agreed that it was important to find common ground.

“I am not a spoiled rotten brat. I have always believed that you can’t get everything you want every time. You do need to be able to see the possibilities to get what you want. She said that fairness is the key to success.

Hyde-Smith’s voting history, which hasn’t once veered away from Trump’s agenda, shows no evidence that he is a great compromiser. Flaggs, who in March switched from Democrat to Independent as his political party affiliation, stated that this does not reflect Hyde-Smith’s character. Sometimes, how you get elected is not the same as how you serve when you are elected. Sometimes, we just have to say what is necessary to win. Sometimes, we need to say something different. Flaggs stated that it all depends. Flaggs said, “It just depends.” Hyde-Smith’s refrain of not thinking about gender is common. However, whether Hyde-Smith admits it or otherwise, her experiences as a woman in politics can sometimes be detrimental to her gender-neutral campaign. In an interview, she stated that she would support legislation to make women earn the same wages as men. However, even symbolic gestures to ensure equal pay have been blocked by the Mississippi Senate. Hyde-Smith stated that a woman should be paid the same wage as a man, whether she is working in the courthouse, or at the cleaners. This was in an interview that Hyde Smith conducted in her Washington, D.C., headquarters. The Senate office communications director Chris Gallegos, Hyde-Smith, emailed a statement “fleshing” the senator’s comments, and retracted her statement that she would support equal-pay bills. “The Equal Pay Act provides protection against pay discrimination based upon sex. Federal law already provides that protection. I am a former senator and a woman who understands that the state and local officials will determine what is best for Mississippians. Hyde Smith said that federal law allows states to choose the best policies for their citizens. She also trusts the judgment of Mississippi leaders to decide how to deal with wage discrepancies. These are either blips by politicians who were not ready for the spotlight or statements of independence. The uncertainty of what Hyde Smith might say in situations her handlers cannot control is precisely why her challengers took advantage of her refusal to engage in even one debate before Nov. 6. There are few things that make it more difficult for Republican women to walk the fine line than sexual assault allegations, especially those directed at Kavanaugh. Hyde Smith has always maintained her conviction that Ford’s allegations against Kavanaugh “are completely false,” but she also joined the chorus of critics who lambasted McDaniel for claiming that “99% of sexual assault accusations are false” in an interview with conservative American Family Radio. She took a deep breath and said “I certainly don’t believe that.”

Hyde-Smith was actually the one who saw 79 of her bills become laws during her time as state senator. However, she said that letters from women in her area, detailing their sexual trauma, are what have stayed with them the most.

Hyde-Smith stated, “The only thing that kept me awake at night was thinking about the letters I received.” “I can remember that one girl. “I remember this one girl.

Hyde-Smith stated, in reference to sexual assault cases: “Don’t ever misunderstand me.” As I have said, I will always be your friend. “If something like this happens to you, you can bet that I will address it.” Hyde-Smith was concerned about Kavanaugh’s confirmation and seemed annoyed that Kavanaugh’s accusations should resonate with her because she is a woman. I cannot imagine how humiliating it would be for any man to wrongly be accused of sexual assault. It would be humiliating. Do you ever feel the need to put the knife in and rip it off? It’s a great way to go. We just cannot tolerate that in any way in any fashion,” Hyde Smith told Mississippi Today before she voted to confirm Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. It’s strange to try and downplay the fact that Mississippi’s first woman was elected to Congress. 2018 has been the most politically favorable year for female candidates. A record number of 256 women were eligible to vote in the U.S. Senate or House races on September. According to NBC News, 500 women ran for federal office in 2018, including the primaries. Only 59 of the record-breaking 256 women who ran for Congress this year are Republicans, which is less than 25%. Among women in the Senate, only six Republicans are represented, even though all but one Republican woman voted for Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Every female Democrat voted against Kavanaugh’s confirmation, and every Republican woman voted for it. Nearly three-quarters of the 17 Democrats are Democrats. “I believe that this is part of her political strategy to be more focused on the issues. Jenn Gregory, assistant director of the Stennis Center for Public Service, said that she believes traditionally feminism, or the perception thereof, has been reserved for Democrats. She also stated that the center works to recruit and train young people for public service careers. Gregory suggested that Hyde-Smith could win the race against Espy, a Democrat who doesn’t have to court McDaniel supporters on the far right, so “it’s very likely that the messaging could shift depending upon a different election climate.”

“I believe it’s probable. “She is, and will always be, the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress. This is something that she should be proud and is proud of.” Hyde Smith, however, dismisses the idea that downplaying her gender and the historical place it gives her is strategic. It’s not an intentional decision. Gender is not something I think about that often. I simply say vote for the best. It doesn’t matter if it’s male, female, or both, it’s never been an issue with me,” Hyde Smith said last week by phone while she was traveling to Biloxi for a campaign conference. She then stopped and thought, “Maybe, I should promote it more.” This brief moment of reflection was short-lived. Hyde-Smith’s bus tour began from Collins’ family restaurant and she soon returned to her stumping for Trump. She repeated many of Trump’s favorite talking points. Hyde Smith stood at a podium and told the crowd of 35 white people that she had walked the Rio Grande River in a bulletproof vest. She also said that she supports Trump’s wall and lauded Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Finally, she highlighted the importance of Election Day and what voting for Cindy Hyde Smith means. She warned that if Republicans lose control of Congress, they would have Maxine Waters trying impeach our president. This is part 2 of our profile on U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde Smith. Part one of this profile was published on Oct. 24, and can be found here.