The third try wasn’t the charm for State Sen. Chris McDaniel. Mississippi Republicans decided to stick with what they’ve got in last week’s primaries.
McDaniel fell over 20,000 votes short of Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann in a race with relatively high turnout.
The only excitement during the Tuesday night vote tally came from watching to see if political newcomer Tiffany Longino could grab enough votes to force a runoff. She did not. She got just over 5% of the vote while Hosemann won with 52%. He cleared the runoff threshold by nearly 7,000 votes.
This was McDaniel’s third statewide defeat. He lost to Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014 and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in 2018. Notably, after those two defeats he still held on to his state senate seat. This time he lost that too, giving up his safe seat to run against Hosemann.
The results did seem to confirm the notion that McDaniel has a strong but limited core vote, at least in a first primary. In the first primary against Sen. Cochran in 2014 he got 157,733 votes. In the first open primary of the special election for U.S. Senate in 2018 he got 154,878 votes. Unofficial returns from last Tuesday’s first primary showed McDaniel with 157,278 votes. In contrast, he got 187,279 in his runoff loss to Cochran in 2014.
McDaniel did carry 25 of Mississippi’s 82 counties in this race. Most were smaller, rural counties, but of note was his win in DeSoto County, one of the large Republican strongholds. Sixteen of the counties were in southeast Mississippi, including his home county of Jones.
The only other statewide Republican officials with primaries were Gov. Tate Reeves and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney. The Governor cruised to victory over two generally unknown challengers, John Witcher and David Hardigee. Likewise, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney clobbered challenger Mitch Young. Attorney General Lynn Fitch, Secretary of State Michael Watson, State Treasurer David McRae, Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, and State Auditor Shad White were unopposed.
All Republican incumbents will have opponents in November.
The other significant position in state politics is Speaker of the House. Reigning Speaker Philip Gunn did not seek re-election. State Rep. Jason White, the heir apparent, handily won his primary and is unopposed in November.
In other key races, Nelson Wayne Carr upset incumbent Dane Maxwell for Public Service Commissioner for the Southern District. Republican State Rep. Chris Brown won the Northern District post vacated by gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley. Neither will have opposition in the General Election.
Most legislators won their primaries. One new face, though, will be Rodney Hall of Southaven. He will become the first Black Republican state representative since 1873.
“Be steadfast” – 1 Corinthians 15:58.
Crawford is a syndicated columnist from Jackson.
16 comments:
Not surprised they screwed McDaniel when the SOS is all in on the Mississippi Deep State. But there are plenty of RINOs in Mississippi who don’t care if Mississippi becomes a purple state as long as outsiders don’t call them “kooky” when they attend SEC events out of state.
9:08
Not buying that, He and Michael are good buddies.
"screwed Mcdaniel"? lol...Mcdaniel screws himself everytime he opens his mouth.
Its troubling that over 157,000 Mississippi voters would support McDaniel. And his political leaning is identical to Gov. Tate Reaves.
Actually, 9:30, it takes a contortionist to screw himself. But only an incumbent serial liar would claim credit for everything regardless of who got it done.
157,000 votes for McDaniels. The survey is complete.There is now a record that we have 157,000 right wing nut cases living in our state.Maybe we should encourage them to move to California to live with the left wing nut cases. Bless the moderate republicans who are willing to work with the moderate democrats to make positive improvements in Mississippi.Now if Biden and Trump would just go check in to the nursing home we could see real progress.Oh—and don’t forget to drop off Harris at the funny farm.
A McDaniel victory would have been largely symbolic, only signifying Mississippi's desire to remain a backwater. Some people prosper in a backwater, most don't.
Red, at 12:08, I voted for Hosemann and saw no reason to consider McDaniels. But, your tone is dismissive and i spart if the problem in America.
There's been a movement afoot for 20 years in MS and the US for the GOP to stop playing the Beltway games. The folks who supported McDaniels are part of that movement. They are our neighbors and deserve to be treated with respect.
Conservatives do not like liberals portraying conservatives as uneducated rubes. Liberals do not like conservatives calling them godless idiots.
Hosemann won and I bet you a steak dinner he doesn't view McDaniel supporters are right wing cases. Let's not either.
I am glad you wrote anonymously, because I would not want to embarrass anyone on a social platform. Just hoping that you will see the other side of name-calling.
RMQ
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Chris McDaniel, with all his faults, has never lied to me - his opponent has. I guess all of you Delbert supporters don't mind a liar.
@ 9:08 —
At least you didn’t get Bill Gates’s microchip implanted via the phony Covid vaccine, huh?
LOL. “Deep state.”
Rube.
I didn't bother vote. We couldn't get warmonger neocon Michael Guest out last year, and I knew we couldn't get rid of Delbert and his ridiculous old lady commercials. We'll never get rid of nuclear war with Russia supporter Roger Wicker out either. This will all collapse in about 15 years when the U.S. will be unable to support a national debt that will be 250 percent of GDP (now about 130 percent).
@12:49–Sorry but you quoted no facts to embarrass me . See if you can get Delbert to join us for that steak dinner and confirm he doesn't consider McDaniel supporters as “right wing cases.” Did you not get the campaign cards from Delbert and watch any of his commercials? I’ll buy the drinks. Your 20 year movement just got shot down by the 11 right wing endorsements of the State Freedom Caucus Network (maybe you work for them).Even the right wing candidate running for CM old senate seat lost.Let’s see how many of the remaining in office right wingers get important chairmanships in the Senate and House. Nuts only belong on an almond joy bar.In my opinion extremism is what’s wrong with this country, on both the right and the left!!
BTW- what is a “spart” ??
@1:17
Unfortunately, I was forced to be vaccinated or I couldn't work. Thankfully, I haven't suffered myocarditis or the dozen or so other confirmed side-effects of the experiment that did absolutely nothing to "flatten the curve" but made a handful of folks rich.
2117 - YOU and your anti-vac can continue to live in your world making your ridiculous claims. I quickly took the vaccine (didn't see Bill Gates' name on it or anywhere around, but if it makes you happy to associate him with it alongside his polio eradication efforts, keep on). By the way, I also took Sabin's vaccination decades ago to avoid being crippled or killed by polio; realize you are probably way too young to have participated in that Sunday drive, but those of us that took took the sugar cube were glad we didn't have to spend hours every day in an iron lung like some of our friends. Yes, the drops on that sugar cube had negative effects on some, but overall - it made it safer for all to walk the streets or for us kids to get back into the community pool.
If your entire reason for voting yea/nea on McDaniel/Hosemann was the vaccine, God bless you. Anyone with such a one-track mind needs all the help they can get.
Me, on the other hadn, want to look at what the two candidates offered toward things that would affect the governance of the state, but we do recognize that there are a few low-intelligence voters that are still given a ballot on election day
Hopefully, he and Melanie will set up a political consulting firm in Oregon or New Jersey.
This right winger voted for Delbert and McDaniel and Reeves are nothing alike
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