This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/us/politics/mississippi-senate-appointee-trump.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
A Republican Appointee to the Senate From Mississippi Has the G.O.P. Worried Mississippi Governor Defies White House With His G.O.P. Appointee to Senate
(about 20 hours later)
Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi has told associates he intends to appoint the state’s agricultural commissioner to fill the seat Senator Thad Cochran is vacating next month, alarming senior Republicans who believe it could create a messy special election and an opening for Democrats. WASHINGTON — Phil Bryant, the Republican governor of Mississippi, defied a last-minute appeal from the White House and announced Wednesday that he was appointing Cindy Hyde-Smith, the state’s agricultural commissioner, to fill the seat Senator Thad Cochran is vacating next month.
Mr. Bryant is expected to name Cindy Hyde-Smith, a former Democratic state senator who became a Republican in 2010, as Mr. Cochran’s replacement on Wednesday, according to two Mississippi Republicans. The 80-year-old Mr. Cochran, who has been in ill health, is resigning on April 1. Appearing at an outdoor rally in Brookhaven, Miss., Ms. Hyde-Smith’s hometown, Mr. Bryant said the decision had been “mine and mine alone” and urged the state’s voters to rally to her side ahead of the special election for the seat this November.
Ms. Hyde-Smith would be the first woman to represent Mississippi in Washington, and the first female Republican to represent the Deep South in the Senate. Ms. Hyde-Smith would enter the special election this November with the blessing of a popular governor, but she could be vulnerable against State Senator Chris McDaniel, the firebrand conservative who nearly unseated Mr. Cochran in 2014 and recently indicated he would run for the soon-to-be vacated seat. Ms. Hyde-Smith, who would be the first woman in the Senate representing Mississippi — the only state that has not had a female governor or member of Congress — used her remarks to outline her accomplishments in office. Aware that Mr. Trump is uneasy about the strength of her candidacy, she also repeatedly invoked and praised the president, made a reference to his signature slogan (“Make America Great Again”) and recalled she had served on his agricultural advisory team.
Mr. Bryant has settled on Ms. Hyde-Smith but is waiting to speak with — and secure the support of — President Trump before announcing his selection. He had not yet reached Mr. Trump on Tuesday morning. And she made an oblique but unmistakable reference to her coming race against State Senator Chris McDaniel, the firebrand conservative who nearly ousted Mr. Cochran in 2014 and is challenging Ms. Hyde-Smith for the seat.
“I feel the power of prayer and that armor of protection on me ’cause we’re going to have some rough days ahead,” said Ms. Hyde-Smith, standing alongside Mr. Bryant at a veterans’ museum.
Noting that someone had pointed out that she recently got a haircut, she said: “But I tell you what, I’m not like Samson: I haven’t lost my strength.”
Still, she and Mr. Bryant must convince Mr. Trump of her fortitude.
In a telephone call Tuesday, White House officials urged the governor not to rush the appointment and expressed concern that Ms. Hyde Smith, a former Democratic state senator who only became a Republican in 2010, could prove vulnerable to attacks from Mr. McDaniel, according to Republicans familiar with the discussions. But the governor — who as of Wednesday morning had not spoken to Mr. Trump himself — is wary of giving Mr. McDaniel an open playing field and moved forward with naming Ms. Hyde-Smith.
The president and his top advisers worry about giving Mr. McDaniel an opening with a weak appointee and are uneasy about the possibility of a replay of last year’s special Senate election in Alabama, when they were saddled with Roy S. Moore as their nominee. That paved the way for a Democrat, Doug Jones, to win a Senate seat in the Deep South.The president and his top advisers worry about giving Mr. McDaniel an opening with a weak appointee and are uneasy about the possibility of a replay of last year’s special Senate election in Alabama, when they were saddled with Roy S. Moore as their nominee. That paved the way for a Democrat, Doug Jones, to win a Senate seat in the Deep South.
White House officials urged Mr. Bryant not to rush the appointment, according to Republican officials familiar with the conversations. It was precisely this recent history that prompted White House officials to express initial concern about Ms. Hyde-Smith last week and again on Tuesday. But it is not just Mr. Trump’s advisers who are nervous: Other Mississippi Republicans also believe Mr. McDaniel has now been given an opening.
“This was Gov. Bryant’s choice to make,” said Brad White, Mr. Cochran’s chief of staff and a veteran state operative. “Now it’s up to him to elect her.” “This was Governor Bryant’s choice to make,” said Brad White, Mr. Cochran’s chief of staff and a veteran state operative. “Now it’s up to him to elect her.”
Mr. Bryant is said to favor Ms. Hyde-Smith for reasons relating to both politics and personal affinity, viewing her as a rural populist in his own fashion. He has told allies he believes she would excite voters in a way that a more typical Republican officeholder in Jackson, the state capital, would not, and he views her deep connections in the farming communities as significant political assets. In a statement issued after the announcement, Mr. McDaniel invoked Ms. Hyde-Smith’s history.
President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, had urged Mr. Bryant to appoint himself to the seat, specifically invoking the Alabama debacle. But Mr. Bryant had no appetite to go to Washington and neither did Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican who is hoping to succeed the governor in next year’s election. “They can choose from among the Democratic candidates or they can vote for a lifelong conservative Republican,” he said of Mississippi voters.
The governor then decided against Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who is 70 and would not be able to achieve the sort of longevity that Mississippi has come to expect in its senators. Mr. McDaniel also claimed that Mr. Bryant had “dutifully followed the orders of” Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader and a frequent target of conservative anger.
Mr. McConnell has been far more sanguine about the appointment than the White House. Officials close to the senator said he would have preferred that Mr. Bryant appoint himself, but that Ms. Hyde-Smith’s Democratic past was being overblown in a state where many conservatives have changed parties in recent years. It is also not lost on Republican leaders in Mississippi and Washington, D.C., that Mr. Trump himself was not a Republican until shortly before he decided to run for president.
For his part, Mr. Bryant favored Ms. Hyde-Smith for reasons relating to both politics and personal affinity. He views her as a rural populist in his own fashion. And he has told allies he believes she would excite voters in a way that a more typical Republican officeholder in Jackson, the state capital, would not, and he views her deep connections in the farming communities as significant political assets.
A cattle farmer, she was first elected to the State Senate in 2000 and rose to become chairwoman of the Agriculture Committee before winning her current office in 2011.
Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell both urged Mr. Bryant to appoint himself to the seat, specifically invoking the Alabama debacle. But Mr. Bryant had no appetite to go to Washington and neither did Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican who is hoping to succeed the governor in next year’s election.
Mr. Bryant was eager to fill the vacancy in part because Mr. McDaniel last week gave up his primary challenge against Senator Roger Wicker, an incumbent Republican up for re-election, to run for Mr. Cochran’s seat.Mr. Bryant was eager to fill the vacancy in part because Mr. McDaniel last week gave up his primary challenge against Senator Roger Wicker, an incumbent Republican up for re-election, to run for Mr. Cochran’s seat.
Mr. McDaniel has made his desire for the appointment clear, but the governor last week responded by saying he would not reward the 45-year-old state senator, who has become a thorn in the side of Mississippi’s Republican establishment. Mr. McDaniel, 45, has made his desire for the appointment clear, but the governor responded last week by saying he would not reward the state senator, who has become a thorn in the side of Mississippi’s Republican establishment.
“This opportunistic behavior is a sad commentary for a young man who once had great potential,” Mr. Bryant said.“This opportunistic behavior is a sad commentary for a young man who once had great potential,” Mr. Bryant said.
On Tuesday, Mr. McDaniel’s supporters lashed back. Mr. McDaniel’s supporters — some of whom signed an open letter to Mr. Trump on Wednesday urging him not to endorse Ms. Hyde-Smith — expressed their frustration at the decision of the governor.
“I support Governor Bryant, but I really am puzzled and disappointed that he wouldn’t select Senator McDaniel,” said Mayor Hal Marx of Petal, a Republican. “He seems to be defying the will and the want of the 184,000 conservative Mississippians who voted for Senator McDaniel four years ago,” said Mayor Hal Marx of Petal, a Republican.
“He seems to be defying the will and the want of the 184,000 conservative Mississippians who voted for Senator McDaniel four years ago,” added Mr. Marx, who said he saw Mr. McDaniel’s decision to change races as “no more opportunistic” than Ms. Hyde-Smith’s choice in 2010 to switch parties.
There is no primary in the special election. If no candidate garners a majority, the top two overall vote-getters will face off in a runoff later in November. What concerns some Republicans is that Mr. McDaniel’s following on the right could, in a potentially crowded field, earn him a position in the runoff against a Democrat.There is no primary in the special election. If no candidate garners a majority, the top two overall vote-getters will face off in a runoff later in November. What concerns some Republicans is that Mr. McDaniel’s following on the right could, in a potentially crowded field, earn him a position in the runoff against a Democrat.
And Mr. McDaniel, who has a history of making incendiary comments, would be more at risk of losing than a less-controversial Republican. What makes establishment-aligned Republicans even more nervous is the prospect that former Representative Mike Espy could emerge as the other candidate in the runoff.And Mr. McDaniel, who has a history of making incendiary comments, would be more at risk of losing than a less-controversial Republican. What makes establishment-aligned Republicans even more nervous is the prospect that former Representative Mike Espy could emerge as the other candidate in the runoff.
Mississippi’s first black congressman since reconstruction, Mr. Espy has deep ties to both Democrats and Republicans in the state. Mississippi’s first black congressman since Reconstruction, Mr. Espy has deep ties to both Democrats and Republicans in the state.
Still, if Ms. Hyde-Smith’s partisan history could make her vulnerable on the right, it could conceivably appeal to moderate voters and even Democrats.Still, if Ms. Hyde-Smith’s partisan history could make her vulnerable on the right, it could conceivably appeal to moderate voters and even Democrats.
Ms. Hyde-Smith, a cattle farmer, was first elected to the State Senate in 2000 and rose to become chair of the Agriculture Committee before winning her current office in 2011. But she voted in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, and Republicans who want to derail Mr. McDaniel worry that he will use that to link her to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Mr. Bryant’s decision to appoint her was first reported by the Clarion-Ledger of Mississippi. What could prove most problematic for Ms. Hyde-Smith, though, is if additional Republicans enter the race, making it easier for Mr. McDaniel to emerge as the party’s top vote-getter in the first balloting.
What could prove most problematic for Ms. Hyde-Smith is if additional Republicans enter the race, making it easier for Mr. McDaniel to emerge as the party’s top vote-getter in the first balloting. Andy Taggart, a veteran Republican strategist and author on the state’s political history, told the governor Monday that he also may run, according to a Republican familiar with their conversation.
Asked about his plans, Mr. Taggart said: “Out of respect for the governor, I’ll keep his and my conversation in confidence.”
As Republicans circulated Tuesday through the state capitol and at a nearby hotel, where a business group was hosting a luncheon, some expressed concerns about Ms. Hyde-Smith’s chances for victory this year.
“I think the mood is of some apprehension because everybody understands how high the stakes are,” said State Representative Greg Snowden, the second-ranking Republican in the Mississippi House, who repeatedly expressed his support for the governor. “I don’t think anybody is under an illusion that it’s going to be an easy race.”“I think the mood is of some apprehension because everybody understands how high the stakes are,” said State Representative Greg Snowden, the second-ranking Republican in the Mississippi House, who repeatedly expressed his support for the governor. “I don’t think anybody is under an illusion that it’s going to be an easy race.”
Mr. Snowden said Democrats sensed an opportunity in the Senate contest.
“They’re going to take it seriously,” he said. “Republicans had better take it seriously too, or we’re going to have a problem.”