Chris McDaniel Looks to Play in Mississippi Special Election

rollcall.com ^ | 2/11/15 | Emily Cahn

[cotton1706]

Flashbacks to last year’s brutal Senate primary in Mississippi have The Magnolia State operatives fretting a special election to replace the late Rep. Alan Nunnelee.

Nunnelee, 56, died on Feb. 6 after a short battle with brain cancer. Republicans will almost certainly retain his seat in a yet-to-be scheduled special election, but multiple Mississippi GOP operatives expressed concern the race could become a proxy battle between state Sen. Chris McDaniel’s tea party supporters and mainstream Republicans who supported Sen. Thad Cochran’s re-election in 2014.

Fresh from launching the United Conservatives Fund super PAC last month, McDaniel said his group could support a candidate in the 1st District special election.

“The United Conservatives Fund has been contacted by many regarding several prospective candidates to run for the District 1 Congressional seat previously held by Congressman Alan Nunnelee,” McDaniel said in a statement to CQ Roll Call. “Our UCF team is currently discussing scenarios and who we might support in the election, if anyone.”

Local operatives were hesitant to speak on the record a day after hundreds packed a church in Tupelo, Miss., for Nunnelee’s funeral. But a handful of state Republicans privately expressed concern to CQ Roll Call about McDaniel’s involvement in the race.

“We all remember what we went through last year,” said one Mississippi Republican operative who lives in the 1st District. We “are not anxious to repeat that process again.”

Meanwhile, prospective candidates to succeed the three-term congressman have started to surface.

Republicans named the following politicians as potential candidates: Mississippi Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert, who is gearing up for re-election to his current gig, and former Tupelo Mayor Glenn McCullough, who lost the GOP primary in a 1st District special election in 2008.

[ilgipper]

The entitlement of these Mississippi party folks is remarkable. “What we went through last year”. Wow.

[MplsSteve]

“The entitlement of these Mississippi party folks is remarkable”

Not knowing who this GOP official was or whether he supported Cochran or McDaniel, it’s hard to say whether he’s speaking with an air of entitlement.

I think that most Magnolia State GOP’ers have a sour taste in their mouths after what happened last year. I’d be willing to bet that most would like to avoid that kind of civil war again.

On a side note, I’d love to see McDaniel run for the seat. He doesn’t live in the district though. His home is in the southern part of the state. But IIRC, you don’t have to be a resident in the district to be able to run.

[reasonisfaith]

For Mississippi Cochran supporters to ponder: what is the cost of cheating, over the long run?

The cost to your public reputation?

To your conscience?

What does God want from you?

[nitzy]

“We all remember what we went through last year,” said one Mississippi Republican operative who lives in the 1st District. We “are not anxious to repeat that process again.”

Good. Nominate a conservative and avoid all of the fuss.

[sarge83]

That motorcycle gang known as the Mississippi Republican Party has no conscience or honor. They would sell their own mothers, wives and daughters into slavery as whores to win an election. My question is why would any Mississippian with a conscience want this liberal pond scum representing them.

[nikos1121]

McDaniel came across as a sore loser. He if had graciously accepted the defeat he would have won over everyone, instead he’s a chump in my eyes, but what do I care can’t vote there anyway.

Every dog has his day, so sometimes you go with the flow until another time. Remember when Reagan was beat out by that idiot Geral Ford and Nixon by Kennedy? They didn’t whine, but drew ranks until they could fight another day.

[DiogenesLamp]

I told anyone who would listen that the Tea-Party should have taken out Senator Chochran at all costs. Since they didn’t, we now can look forward to more establishment bullsh*t in Mississippi.

[House Atreides]

Almost certainly the GOPe in Mississippi (and at the national level) will support someone who the Barbour machine designates as an acceptable “pretend to be conservative” RINO. McDaniel’s PAC and organization will support a true constitutional conservative (assuming they have time to find/vet one) candidate for the seat.

I’ll support McDaniel’s candidate with one of my meager campaign contributions to add my little bit to counterbalance the coming Barbour/Chamber of Amnesty money support for the Barbour candidate.

[fieldmarshaldj]

No, he didn’t come across as a sore loser, since he didn’t lose. He had an election audaciously stolen from him due to massive fraud and the party establishment colluded to cover up the crime they perpetrated. Real Republicans voted for McDaniel. Democrats had two candidates in November.

[DiogenesLamp]

McDaniel came across as a sore loser. He if had graciously accepted the defeat he would have won over everyone, instead he’s a chump in my eyes, but what do I care can’t vote there anyway.

Sore loser my @$$. After the GOP establishment portrayed all of his supporters as racists who wanted to take the vote away from blacks, and after they deliberately stampeded Democrats to the open primary to vote for Cochran, thereby deliberately thwarting the will of the ACTUAL REPUBLICANS in Mississippi, it is the height of chutzpah to assert that this man is behaving like a "sore loser."

He behaved like a man that was deliberately cheated out of an election with vile and despicable tactics that ought to have had decent people REFUSING to support the candidacy which did such a thing.

Do you think any party should tolerate such a vile attack during a party primary? And you think that someone is a "sore loser" who pushes back against such a vile attack?

If you think these things, what is the matter with you?

[sarge83]

I disagree in McDaniel’s case, if they were willing to call conservatives racist and pay democrats to cross over and vote for their liberal candidate to win there was never a chance for reconciliation.

As a candidate would you really want the support of such low life creatures in a future election knowing what lowlife, criminal activity they would stoop too? I consider the Republican party establishment in Mississippi to be worse than their democrats counterparts. I wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire.

[DiogenesLamp]

No, he didn’t come across as a sore loser, since he didn’t lose. He had an election audaciously stolen from him due to massive fraud and the party establishment colluded to cover up the crime they perpetrated. Real Republicans voted for McDaniel. Democrats had two candidates in November.

That's what a lot of people don't understand. This was a stolen election. Not only that, but the damage caused by the vile tactics that the Barbours used went far beyond Mississippi. They damaged all conservatives by playing up the media lie accusing them of racism.

The Republicans should have burned Cochran after that tactic. Since they didn't, the GOPe is going to keep using it.

[alstewartfan]

Chris should have bent over and taken Mitch’s hosing to gain “respect”. You must have a great sense of humor!

[fieldmarshaldj]

Yup. Frankly, Thad the Cad’s credentials should’ve been challenged in January on the Senate floor and thoroughly investigated. It’s disgusting that the majority party label changed in MS, but it was merely corrupt big government RINOs displacing the corrupt big government Democrats. No ideological change whatsoever.

The entire party establishment in MS (not to mention nationally, and in every state) needs to be nuked, or we’ll never get our country back again.

[Jane Long]

Thanks for posting the evidence to (just some of) the widespread cheating....by OUR OWN SIDE...that took place against Chris McDaniel, DL.

nikos.....sore loser? How about “fighter”...something the namby pamby GOPe doesn’t have enough of.

[Zenjitsuman]

No, he didn’t come across as a sore loser, since he didn’t lose.

Exactly, Boss Hogg screwed the conservatives. And Hogg should be going to hell.

[Paine in the Neck]

Crush all RINOs!

[Pajamajan]

"McDaniel came across as a sore loser."

BULL! McDaniel had the election stolen from him by a bunch of greedy, corrupt, lowlifes using despicable tactics.

The only good thing about it was that it let everyone see what dirtbags they really are.

[House Atreides]

“McDaniel came across as a sore loser. He if had graciously accepted the defeat he would have won over everyone, instead he’s a chump in my eyes...”
****************************************************************************************************
Sorry your eyes are suffering from having swallowed the GOPe kool-aid. McDaniel did the right thing by NOT bending over and spreading his cheeks for Mississippi’s corrupt GOPe. His fight exposed the corruption and dishonesty that is pervasive in the Mississippi and national GOP establishments.

McDaniel is in this for the long term fight for the soul of the Mississippi Republican party. If (IMHO it is more a question of WHEN) Cochran retires or dies before his current term expires, the MS governor will likely appoint an interim replacement from the Barbour organization. I fully expect McDaniel to run against the interim appointee AND WIN.