Back in 2014, Mississippi politicos underestimated Tea Party zealot State Sen. Chris McDaniel and it almost resulted in one of the state’s most shocking political upsets. At the outset, most thought McDaniel was taking on then-incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran as an exercise in building name recognition for a future race.
Not so. Cochran, then the state’s most influential member of Congress and in line to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee, was pushed to the limit by McDaniel’s insurgent campaign – a campaign financed largely by out-of-state super political action committees representing Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Fund.
But in the GOP second primary, Cochran rallied to win the nomination based and eventual re-election to his final term in a 45-year career on Capitol Hill that saw him render heroic and historic service to Mississippi and the Gulf South after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In every race, the McDaniel playbook is nothing if not predictable. His opponent is “not conservative enough” and fails McDaniel’s political purity test. McDaniel postures as a courageous champion of conservative issues and a skilled legislator who can effect real change really fast.
But the reality of the McDaniel shuck-and-jive is somewhat different – and often jarring in its hypocrisy. In almost every one of the four four-year terms (that’s 16 years, folks) that McDaniel has sought in the Mississippi Legislature, he’s filed a bill to implement term limits – it fails, then he runs for re-election. And as to his supposed legislative superpowers in the State Senate, a study of his actual record shows that McDaniel has rarely been successful in passing substantive legislation.
In the vast majority of instances in which McDaniel was the principal author of legislation, his Senate colleagues simply allowed his offerings to die in committee. McDaniel was successful in getting resolutions passed honoring school athletic championships or contestants who won pageants.
Notably, he successfully led to passage “Nathan’s Law” which enhanced the penalties for motorists who pass loaded school buses after the 2009 death of Nathan Key.
After losing the 2014 and 2018 U.S. Senate campaigns, McDaniel now returns to a statewide race challenging incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. His campaign announcement featured exactly the pitch McDaniel has made before – Hosemann’s insufficiently conservative and fails McDaniel’s purity test by working across the political aisle when possible.
The 2014 campaign saw McDaniel take on an aging Cochran who never was a firebrand campaigner and who genuinely dislike “in your face” political discourse. And the GOP primary in 2014 was a $16.4 million affair with the tab swollen by outside spending on both sides.
In that race, spending by PACs, super PACs, and 501(c) groups tossed in $10.7 million from third-party groups seeking to influence the outcome of the race either in support of or in opposition to the two candidates. That level of outside national money simply won’t be available in a Hosemann-McDaniel race.
The 2018 U.S. Senate special election race saw McDaniel run third in an open primary race to the ultimate winner U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who gained the key endorsement of then-President Donald Trump. The self-proclaimed “conservative fighter” earned just 16.7 percent of the vote.
Most of all, the key difference in this race for McDaniel is that in Hosemann, he faces an opponent who will take the political fight to him. Based on recent campaign finance reports, Hosemann has a decided campaign finance advantage of $2.75 million more than McDaniel. McDaniel’s campaign finance numbers are drawing scrutiny over whether his disclosure and reporting comply with state rather than federal campaign finance rules.
Hosemann has been extraordinarily popular with Mississippi voters who have elected him to statewide office four consecutive times. The “not conservative enough” bilge doesn’t hold water and Hosemann’s honest efforts to listen across the political aisle and seek consensus over conflict when possible should be lauded, not criticized.
Voters remember Hosemann’s gentle little lady on the park bench “It’s Delbert, ma’am” series of TV political ads, but if the McDaniel camp ponders that series of ads and deciphers that Hosemann isn’t temperamentally prepared for a political street fight, think again.
26 comments:
McDaniel should get one of those civil war rebel hats like Cindy wore to symbolize his campaign. It didn't hurt her and it's so appropriate. If only he could learn the rebel yell....
Hosemann camp and the RINOs are very, very worried.
Bullshit, Salter. Speaking of the bills he's introduced that were ignored or dead in committee, one need look no further than this. If any name other than his had been on these bills, a majority of them would be sitting on the governor's 'sign here and smile at camera' desk.
https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/4729
This Salter, he doesn’t like Chris McDaniel much, does he? When a mainstream op-ed writer doesn’t like something or someone, that carries a lot of heft with me.
Hosemann’s name and career are linked to that little old lady. There’s not much else there, is there, but the little old lady mispronouncing his name and his continued seeking of the next highest public office.
Cochran WASN"T conservative; neither is Hosemann (and Sid wouldn't know the difference).
8:18 AM, That does not say much for the honesty of the rest of them if they decide what is good for Mississippi just by the name on the bill.
Hosemann is not a conservative. He’s a mockingbird for the lobbyist lining his pockets. Hosemann said he would never vote for religious freedom exemption on vaccines. That’s why I would vote for anyone running against him.
8:14: That may be the case in your McDaniel wet dream, but likely not in reality.
Just a standard hit piece on a politician here.
Pretty blatant and sorry one at that.
Zero mention of Cochran basically being way too old and demented (think Biden!) to properly represent us. But that matters not ! So Republicans laugh at Fetterman and yet we do the exact same thing.
Cochran is a great example of the persistent swamp.
And this writer has buttache that a guy came out of nowhere and almost beat him. Just like Trump did to a bunch of RINOs.
So go crap on the Tea Party for calling out RINOs and primarying against then. We need MORE of this not less. The rot in the republican party is very real and very old.
I loathe McDaniel and consider him a looney tune.
Never was a fan of Dilbert either.
I have no clue where I will land on it ultimately but I am fed up with the whole thing.
Been a conservative all my life and I am so sick of the current state of our party.
Federal and State. Just sick of it.
Kirk Sims isn't running Delbert's campaign so he should be fine.
I am no fan of McDaniel but will support him over RINO Hosemann. Anyone Sid hates, I probably like.
@12:22 PM, me and you both.
McD got about as much chance as The Orange one has to be President again.
All McDaniel has to do is call Hosemann the “L” word the whole campaign and it’s a done deal. Take one out of tater tot’s playbook. Works every time.
Here’s the campaign slogan: “a vote for Hosemann is a vote for Obama” . Like seriously, y’all are so gullible he doesn’t even need to raise a lot of money.
8:14 is way off about the Hosemann camp "very, very scared". They will respect McDaniel the same as any other opponent and rightfully so. Hosemann will win the race handily.
Mississippi will always have bottom of the barrel options at the polls. All the smart people leave flyover country.
So we’re stuck with tatur tott, dumb Fitch, digburt, McDaniel, etc etc ad nauseam.
The TEA party arose due to the GOP establishment becoming like other Beltway bandits. There was a vacuum of good leaders within The GOP and the vacuum was filled with some fiesty folks. But for the poor GOP leadership Chris McDaniel would have been unknown outside of Jones County.
The GOP Establishment has itself to blame.
FWIW I think Hosemann is a solid man of good principles.
RMQ
McDaniel has done absolutely nothing but make hypocritical posts on social media platforms from his mother’s basement. The man has been representing his Senate District while living in another and is rarely seen anywhere other than sporting events in Jones County.
How bigga staff does a Lieutenant Governor have? Each of them has posted here at least four times...and on my dime!
Of course there's the Hatch Act, but they know which side of the jelly their bacon is buttered on.
You lettuce-heads who love to suggest McDaniel is in his mother's basement, has never shown up and has done nothing, take a look at these bills which saw no movement. Tell me why they died?
He could sponsor a bill to buy the Lt. Gub a hairpiece and The Hose would kill it. Just because.
https://www.billtrack50.com/legislatordetail/4729
Hoseman is definitely conservative.
What he's not is lazy, poorly educated ( at the bottom of his classes just barely graduating) and not suffering from a variety of personality disorders.
He has saved MS from being a national laughing stock more than once ( voter ID is one example) but he doesn't have the authority to keep all of the "bubbas" you elected or who appointed judges at bay. That is why in Texas, Louisiana and here, domestic abusers now can have their guns, even concealed, to go kill their girlfriends or spouses and probably children who " aren't on their side" or who "get in the way".
Thanks jerks! None of you seem to know that boundaries( aka rules, laws, and the social etiquette of a civilized society) keep us safer from you feral beasts! You think yourselves perfect and that your " feelings" define perfection. You are delusional.
Thank you, February 9, 2023 at 11:02 AM! Hoseman any day, if McDaniels is the only other option.
11:02 - Speaking of personality disorders...You started your diatribe as a cheerleader for Hoseman. Then you got distracted and drifted off into a discussion of Texas, domestic abuse, the 2nd amendment, societal rules and Bubbas. Good Lord, man, pick a subject and at least stay with it for a few sentences.
If you want to keep The Hose in the job, that's fine. It's not an altogether bad idea to have a democrat in statewide elective office.
Ol’ Sid doing the wordy hit piece now. Getting paid by the letter or the word now?
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