Jackson Jambalaya

It's an April Fools Joke. Fake News. Check the Date. OR NOT.

Speculation begins in 3...2...1....

We all knew that he wouldn't serve out this term. In fact, he wasn't going to run at all until McDaniel started gaining traction.

So, now Bryant can appoint Gregg Harper, then can pick his replacement for Harper prior to the election.

The machine keeps chugging...

I knew this was coming...just didn't know when.

Cochran never had any intention to see this term through. I believe this has been planned for several years to set up an appointment for someone...I just don't know who. I have always had it in the back of my mind that it would be Gunn or Harper. All the possible candidates has to kiss the ring of Billy Mounger the older Mounger.

What a joke this has all been on the citizens of Mississippi !!!!!

McDaniel should have waited a week. Or maybe this is part of his grand scheme. Maybe the last 3 years has been part of his grand scheme.

Chris McDaniel just got played.

McDaniel looks like (is) an absolute chump. What a loser! Sad!

McDaniel should have kept his mouth shut and taken the loss. His popularity would have risen after the slanderous ads that Cochran ran surfaced. Everyone knew Cochran would never serve out the term. If McDaniel hadn't been such a sore loser he could have waltzed into Cochran's seat in 2018.

Gunn will be the appointment - Book it!

Gunn.

Gunn will get appointment and no way can McD beat Wicker now. Mississippians do believe in seniority .

truth 420. Mcdaniel.... what a dumbass!

The lies and deceits of the MSGOP laid bare for all to see.

Let's face it. The MSGOP would rather not have primaries at all.

Left unsaid in all this: Mississsippians have been represented by Kay Weber since BEFORE the 2014 election. Thad hasn’t known who he was for a while, and it was selfish & exploitative to keep him in office this long.

Cindy Hyde-Smith

Phil has a surprise for all of you up his sleeve.

Elected in 1978 and regrets having to leave in 2018. That about sums up the problem with Politicians today.

MS Republicans will moan and wail about budget deficits and the federal budget while at the same time crying that with Cochran's departure we will lose all the free gov't money he was able to bring home.

Jim Hood is your next Senator, folks.

Mark Formby

Mike Espy says he's in.

And KF plays defense, forbidding comments about Cochran's mental acuity, which is non-existent.

Unelected Kay Weber has been representing Mississippi.

Mike Espy has announced.

I don't know if this is fake news or what. But, I swear to God in Heaven, if Chip Pickering's name is brought up and considered, I will vote democrat to prevent his entitled, worthless, hypocritical, adulterous ass (even though he married her and gets paid by her family), a man who can't manage his own family, but will tell you how to manage yours, who still cries to Daddy when things don't go his way, and oh, yes, who was an buffoon on Borat movie, from ever representing Mississippi. Mississippi has things bad and hard enough. This twit doesn't need to be part of any equation.

521...whatever you are smoking is some good stuff

These guys are better than Lyndon Johnson, Ross Barnett alnd JR Ewing all rolled into one. Big Jim Eastland would be proud so proud of all the boys at the helm of the Republican Party, oh wait, he was a democrat.... uh-oh, everybody might wanna the to watch this. Haley needs to sell this as Good TV show. This is all so awesome! I know Senator Cochran had so much left he wanted to accomplish, I wish him the best in his golden years. I know Chris McDaniel will be just fine... he doesn’t have anyone plotting against him.

Haley will tell Phil to appoint Phil, and that'll be that. Who gets to be governor after that, though? Not sure how that works.

Glad it isn't "Cochran to RE Sign" 30 + years serving the public ought to make a person wealthy enough.

Can a governor appoint himself?

My money is on Lynn Fitch.

tate reeves to fill the senate seat because they know hood is the next governor. mcdaniel is the only person who could beat hood

Can Phil Bryant appoint himself? Lord Snow is cooking up the inevitable Supreme Court-worthy defense right now....

Don't forget Dilbert !!!!

McDenial said he wanted a fight. He just didn't think it'd be from an 80 year old. Boy, try to remember that Thad has survived 80 years of life and 40 years in DC for a reason. McDaniel just got finessed. In fact, he got round house kicked in the jaw, by someone twice his age and 1/100th as quiet. ROFLMAO.

Kenneth Stokes is our next senator! WaW, WaW,
WaW,WaW

The reality is rapidly setting in that Mississippi's "leadership" today is just the reincarnations of L.Q.C. Lamar, Andrew Johnson, William Sharkey, Jim Coleman, Paul Johnson, Charles Pickering, Ted Bilbo, Ross Barnett, Trent Lott, Haley Barbour, and so many, many more closet Klan supporters. Will Mississippian's EVER wake up and stop electing these scumbags from the Oxford plantation? If the scoundrels "steal" elections, and play games with the timing of appointments, then NOTHING has changed since the days of the all controlling white, moneyed, racist Bourbon Democrats, who now they go by the name Republican. Seriously, Mississippi is exactly under the same Black Codes they enforced, except now they should be Poor/Middle-Class Codes. Keep them down is their perpetual goal, and appear to be succeeding. Only the names have changed. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Except we're all black and white alike saying "yes massa'" to the power structure out of Oxford. Sickening.

Technically, Bryant would have to resign and let Tate become the Governor and appoint him to the Senate vacancy. It's happened before in Oklahoma when Robert Kerr died in office. Don't know if Phil will do it, though. He's never aspired to go to DC.

A domino will be falling somewhere, though. You can take that to the bank.

Why is Palazzo never mentioned? Is there something we don't know? Why is he not in the "cool kid" club?

Mississippians don't give a shit about 'seniority' except for the handful who hang out at the capital and the wine/pinky crowd.

McDaniel is a cinch. He speaks exactly what Mississippi voters on the R side are looking for. Espy is a bad dream and a retread who won't gain traction.

Wicker is history.

Haley is 'Haley Who?'

All you prognosticators are less than 'who?' and need to call your block captains to organize a crackers and cheese meeting.

6:52 Bryant is a Hattiesburg buzzard and proud of it. It ain't got nothing to do with Oxford. Its got everything to do with entitlement spirit the day after election day. Yes, today's crop learned from the best who happened to be from UM, but today's group is a bunch of equal opportunists.

The timing of this seems to me to be one last final kick in the crotch by an 80 year old that can't remember much, but he can remember who tried to screw him and he had one good kick left in that leg.

If he appoints Kelly or Palazzo, their House seat goes Dem because it's too late for another Republican to run.

Gilbert is the one. Harper moves in for the kill at Gov. Tater left wondering WTH happened.

What about Steve Holland? Let’s give them a Democrat we are proud of!!

Palazzo is an empty suit. Our entire D.C. representation is a bunch of lightweights.Eastland, Whitten, Stennis, and Montgomery are rolling over in their caskets.

I think that Palazzo fellow is DOA. Not enough partying office aids to carry all his baggage.

Mitch Tyner

Quintin Whitwul is our man. He’s run for office all over the state and has the network in place. Go Q!

all you wanna be political experts dropping names of wanna be senators . no matter who they stick up there nothing but the names will ever change in this 3nd world political backwater called the republic[ican] of mississippi,you people talk like this is the epicenter of the world. its a #%&* hole.

Those damn Russians! they got us again!

Jeramy Anderson

#futurePOTUS

John Cohen should run.

We need a tough SOB in office.

Kay Weber has worked for Thad since 1981, and makes 165,000 a year plus benefits...and became Mrs. Thad in 2015....

Bryant is much too arrogant to settle for a senate seat. Much the same as Trey Gowdy is too arrogant to sit still in a Supreme robe.

Bryant is still jockying for a Trump appointment that will allow him freedom to roam on a nationwide scale...one that will allow him to take the wife along so she can read to children along the way.

My money is on either Sam Hall or Spooner. Both are extremely politically savvy. But if they both decline, yes to Steve Holland. We really need that man on the national stage. I mean, hell, Jerry Clower selling caskets. What could be better for our reputation.

That loud sucking sound you hear is all of the federal dollars leaving Mississippi. Winter is coming.

Bryant's worship of Trump will save the fed dollars for another 18 months.

I have not heard any words of love by Tater, Hood, or Gunn for Trump. That will truly be the end.

I'm grateful to Senator Cochran for representing our State with intelligence and dignity.
While I want to see us have another Senator who has those traits and who will not be seen as an embarrassment or party puppet ..a man or woman who could put the Nation's and State"s best interest above self and party...I am doubtful.

Note to Hinds County Black Democrats and Bennie:

You got paid to vote for me and now, before I leave, your Tougaloo payoff. We're even and that concludes our unseemly business.

s/ King of Pork

Yadda, yadda, yadda. We'll just wait and see what shakes out on the GOP side between Phil's appointee and later election. On the Democratic side it's another matter. Sure Espy has some name recognition, but he's also damaged goods. Why not Enoch Sanders? (The Struggles Continues!)

7:39pm- You obviously do not know how things work in the U.S. Senate. Seniority is everything.

As a long time Mississippi conservative, my cynicism has overtaken any optimism I may have had.

There is no Jefferson Smith out there that Phil can (or would) appoint. Anyone he puts in will be a bought and paid for crony, and the victor in the McDaniel/Wicker/Mr. Sela Ward contest will be no better (unless it's McDaniel...then it will be MUCH worse).

I have zero faith in anyone who is within striking distance of either Senate seat, and I'm really tired of the "fighting for conservative values" line that so many parrot. Turns out that means pork funneled to the "right" people...and fighting to keep a flag that long ago became a liability.

I see Tate Reeves as the next Governor and two incredibly bad options becoming our next senators. No one gives me hope.

And don't even start on the Democrat party, because their only solution is anti-Trump rhetoric. Also, look at what they have wrought in the city of Jackson.

I'm incredibly depressed and negative regarding our state's future.

But hey, McDaniel will fight to keep that flag!

8:01 What's unseemly about people voting in their own best interest? I guess only whites can do that.

So, the dice have been rolled and have come up snake-eyes; so, sneaky-snake Delbert it is. Phil gets to put Cheney in Delbert's chair and Cindy Tanning-Hyde in as Insurance Commish.

Those of you lauding Wicker's seniority are unable to list one thing he has done for this state. McDaniel sends him packing. Our beloved state flag will fly in DC once again. It's not so much that McDaniel favors the flag...It's that Wicker does NOT and has said so.

Odd man out is Tater who won't get to run as incumbent governor in '19.

Espy had his moment before and God knows he embarrassesd Mississippi by being so self-centered. He has no chance here

I'll support Hosemann if he promises to put those dotty-old-lady-who-screws-up-his-name ads to bed forever and ever.

No one really wants this seat when anyone with half a political brain knows they are going to be in the minority.

Several of you are saying that Wicker has done nothing in Washington. I wish someone could tell me what McDaniel has done in the state Senate.

What does anyone do in the MS Senate? Seriously? Reeves completely controls what comes to the floor there for votes. The entire MS Senate could stay home and be as equally effective.

Please not Delbert!

Whut has MackDaniel done? Hell, he's fought for our flag, son! I'mma vote fer him just fer that!

HERITAGE NOT HATE!!!

The appointee to serve until November should be a senior Cochran staffer, who can maintain consistency in the office. No, I'm not naïve, I realize the appointee will be strategically political, but that is what SHOULD happen.

"Several of you are saying that Wicker has done nothing in Washington. I wish someone could tell me what McDaniel has done in the state Senate."

Will someone please throw the 'fallacy flag' at that idiot? This race is about the federal senate seat and, in that respect, what the incumbent has done to deserve to be retained. And the answer is nothing. If you disagree, provide your list.

5:53. The single A player (any MS state senator would be single A) hasn’t reached the Mendoza line in single A, so lets promote him cause the Major Leaguer isn’t an All-Star? And we wonder why this state is dead last in everything.

McDaniel has accomplished zero in the MS Senate. Why in the world would we want an abject failure in the minorest of the minor leagues promoted to the majors? Wicker is a seat warmer, but at least he’s quiet in his embarrassing statements. The only reason anyone could possibly think McDaniel is a good choice for anything is because the voices in his head and the voices in your head agree.

How about a real choice? Bomgar.

Can Phil appoint someone from another state like Roy Moore?

8:44 - Can you ride a horse from Alabama to Jackson?

Then why not appoint Kay to the unexpired term? She's been making his decisions for him for the past four years anyway.

We don't need Casper Milktoast representing us in D.C. So, no, we don't need a quiet bench-warmer. How quiet were our most effective reps/senators (home-bringers of the bacon) in the past?

Yes, we need somebody who will stand up and shout 'You Lie'! when it's appropriate. We need somebody who is a cross between Alan Simpson and Jesse Helms. Someone who is of sufficient oratorical magnitude with a large set of balls and swagger. And that person may not yet have been discovered down here.

But, one thing is for sure, he is neither the one claiming to have brought in jobs (while bringing none), nor the one simply wanting to round out his elder years with a federal pension on top of a state pension.

Yes to the horse-riding-question, 9:05....Sherman proved that feat a simple one, in reverse. Likewise, Wicker has done about as much for this state as he did.

sources say: Stacey Pickering.

Thad retired many years ago. It is very nice that someone finally mentioned it to him.