TUPELO, Miss.–A concession speech is not what Democrat candidate for Senate Travis Childers expected to give in Tupelo Tuesday, but he did eventually concede to Sen. Thad Cochran when the loss became apparent. Still, he and the Mississippi Democratic Party are prepared to keep pushing issues they say are important to the people in the state.
“We want to fully fund education, we want to make sure every Mississippian has access to affordable health care, we want to raise minimum wage and we want to see equal pay for equal work,” said Ouida Meruvia, communications director for the Miss. Democratic Party.
“I think those are issues that Mississippians are behind that we are so happy Travis Childers brought to light.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson believes Mississippi should expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. That could potentially put about 300,000 more Mississippians on the rolls, and it’s a move that Gov. Bryant and Republican leadership say the state cannot afford.
“If you look at other states that have accepted it, they’ve built a model and they’re moving on,” he said. “We’ve missed a billion dollars that had no match requirement. Just about all the hospitals in the 2nd District have a real challenge with uncompensated care. That money could have gone toward improving their bottom line.”
As for Childers, Maruvia believes he will continue to be a vocal advocate for those issues.
“Those issues are issues that Travis believes in, that he wants to advocate for. This is not the end of it.”
