State Senator Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, has announced that he will be running for lieutenant governor.
The Republican candidate announced his intentions to seek to unseat incumbent Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann at the GOP headquarters in Jackson on Monday.
According to McDaniel, there are two paths for Mississippi voters to consider in the upcoming election. He argues that he sides with limiting the scope of government and advancing civil liberties. He promised to fight what he believes to be socialist ideals being pushed in public spaces — especially colleges and universities.
“Mississippians, this is our time for choosing. We are told that there is a left and a right. That is not necessarily the case. There’s surely no such thing as a left or a right. It’s either up or it’s down. Up toward individual liberty, up toward law and order, up to the American dream, or down to the ash can of totalitarianism,” McDaniel said. “There is no in-between. We have to choose sides.”
The proclaimed conservative candidate accused Hosemann of being a moderate who has entertained “big government” policies and has advanced agendas promulgated by Democratic lawmakers as opposed to supporting fellow Republicans.
“He has chosen a different path that leads our party into a weaker and a less conservative position. His beliefs align more with the Democrat Party than they do with the party of Reagan or Goldwater. For every problem, he sees government as the solution,” McDaniel said of Hosemann. “He believes that he alone has all the answers and he punishes anyone who dares to disagree.”
McDaniel is experienced in running against incumbent candidates. In 2014, the state senator ran a grassroots campaign against the late former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, which was ultimately unsuccessful. McDaniel also ran a failed campaign against U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith in 2018.
Within just minutes of McDaniel’s announcement, Hosemann’s campaign team issued an official statement attributable to senior advisor Casey Phillips.
“After being rejected by Mississippians in three failed statewide campaigns, the least effective politician in the state with the largest ego is running again, this time for Lt. Governor. By comparison, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann’s conservative record is clear, implementing Voter ID to secure our elections, delivering the largest tax cut in Mississippi’s history, and overseeing a major teacher pay raise. Results matter and Delbert delivers.”
McDaniel and Hosemann are joined by Shane Quick and Tiffany Longino in vying for the state’s second-highest office on the Republican ticket.
The deadline for candidates to qualify to run for state office is Wednesday, February 1 at 5 p.m. Primary elections will be held on Tuesday, August 8.
