Chris McDaniel announces decision on run for governor
McDaniel says he's focused on 'restoring the conscience of the Republican Party'
Chris McDaniel announces decision on run for governor McDaniel says he's focused on 'restoring the conscience of the Republican Party' Check out this story on clarionledger.com: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/28/chris-mcdaniel-decision-run-mississippi-governor/3014531002/
Luke Ramseth, Mississippi Clarion Ledger Published 2:43 p.m. CT Feb. 28, 2019 | Updated 4:35 p.m. CT Feb. 28, 2019
Conservative state legislator Chris McDaniel announced Thursday he will not run for Mississippi governor, but teased a future run.
McDaniel said he wants to spend time instead with his two sons and "will take a short break from statewide campaigns."
McDaniel had refused to rule out a 2019 run for governor, saying he'd been discussing his political future with President Donald Trump. But on Thursday, McDaniel announced he did not plan to join the race ahead of a Friday qualifying deadline.
"I will instead focus on electing conservatives and restoring the conscience of the Republican Party," he said in a statement. "I still believe the GOP is the best hope to save our Republic. If our party embraces liberty, fiscal restraint, and self-government, we can defeat the Democrats and relegate the reckless doctrine of Socialism to the ash bin of history."
Republicans who are running include Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, retired state Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller Jr. and freshman state Rep. Robert Foster. Attorney General Jim Hood is running as a Democrat. Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith also confirmed his candidacy last week.
Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville. (Photo: Sarah Warnock/Clarion Ledger)
McDaniel, 47, is coming off a November U.S. Senate special election to fill Sen. Thad Cochran seat, where he failed to advance in a runoff contest that was ultimately won by Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. An attorney and three-term state senator, McDaniel gained national attention in a 2014 U.S. Senate race, when he nearly beat Cochran in a runoff.
On Wednesday night, McDaniel tweeted he would "announce my future plans" Thursday — fueling recent speculation he was preparing a gubernatorial run. He was rarely seen in the early weeks of the legislative session.
Thank you all for the prayers and advice. I will announce my future plans tomorrow.
— Sen. Chris McDaniel (@senatormcdaniel) February 28, 2019
The Ellisville resident has positioned himself in recent years to the right of establishment GOP leaders, and he was embraced by the Tea Party movement.
He has slammed Republican leaders like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — "I haven't heard (him) be able to put two sentences together," McDaniel said last year — but also frequently brings up his relationship with Trump, who he said he "adores" despite Trump's endorsement of Hyde-Smith in November.
McDaniel previously has run on cutting government spending, deep tax cuts, adding more border security and ending funding for abortion providers. Last year he faced broad criticism and national media attention after saying on MSNBC that African-American Mississippians should stop "begging for federal government scraps."
Instead of seeking the governor's office, McDaniel said he will run for reelection to his state senate seat.
Political campaigns have been hard on his family, he said, especially his sons Cambridge and Chamberlain. More time will be spent with his family going forward, he said.
"I'll go fishing with my sons. We will play baseball, shoot hoops, and imagine ourselves in distant, faraway lands," he said. "... I'll let them teach me all the Fortnite dances."
More: Chris McDaniel talks Trump, Hyde-Smith and the governor's seat after Senate defeat
More: UPDATED: Who's running for governor, AG and other open seats in Mississippi
Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter.
Giacomo Bologna contributed to this report.
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