McDaniel vows not to ‘devastate local economies’
State Sen. Chris McDaniel, who is again running for the U.S. Senate, stopped in Columbia Wednesday talking with voters.
During a meeting with the Marion County Board of Supervisors, local leaders said they were concerned about McDaniel’s desire to cut federal budgets and worried about funding needed by local entities.
“I have no intention of going up there with an axe or a chainsaw,” he said. “We’re not going to be devastating to local economies. We’re not going to be devastating to cities and counties. What we are going to do is as we attempt to draw down the debt; we can prioritize to make sure that you are receiving what you need to and yet the government waste and corruption is rooted out of the system. Our central government is broken right now.”
The Republican is running against fellow Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, who was appointed by Gov. Phil Bryant to fill the seat left vacant when longtime Sen. Thad Cochran retired earlier this year. Democrats Mike Espy and Toby Bartee are also running in the Nov. 6 special election to serve the remainder of Cochran’s term.
An NBC News poll released this week shows Espy, a former congressman and U.S. secretary of agriculture, and Hyde-Smith, a former state ag commissioner, in a virtual tie with McDaniel close behind. The top two candidates will advance to a Nov. 27 runoff if no one gets 50 percent plus one vote.
President Trump was in Southaven Tuesday campaigning for Hyde-Smith, saying “a vote for Cindy is a vote for me.”
In his talk with supervisors, McDaniel said he has been a state senator for 11 years and would be accessible.
“I’m going to be here. I’m not going to live in Washington; I’m going to live in the area like I have my entire life,” the attorney from Ellisville said.
McDaniel said citizens and local governments don’t have a voice, even in Mississippi politics.
“Unless you have a lobbyist and a large amount of money, they’re not going to listen to you. Our system is broken,” he said. “What we’re proposing is to shake it to its core and rebuild it to an image that reflects individuals. Whether there is a ‘D’ in front of the name or an ‘R’ in front of the name, it is the same machine, the same cronies and the same fat cats that have been doing it for 100 years in this state. They have to go. My goal is not to dismantle the federal system; it is to change the establishment.”
Pictured Above: U.S. Senate candidate Chris McDaniel smiles during a meeting with the Marion County Board of Supervisors Wednesday. | Photo by Mark Rogers
