Ted Cruz’s state campaign chair here is a familiar name for political junkies: State Sen. Chris McDaniel, who lost a high-profile and nasty primary race against Sen. Thad Cochran last year.
Speaking on the back of a pick-up truck at Connie’s Fried Chicken, the Mississippi firebrand heaped praise on Cruz as the one of the few Republican senators to help him when establishment Republicans defeated him just a year ago.
“When you’re running against Thad Cochran, you’re running against the entire establishment,” McDaniel told CNN. “So to have one come out and defend me, it meant a lot to me.”
McDaniel rattled national Republicans after he lost a nasty runoff in one of the tightest tea party-versus-establishment primaries of 2014. After Republicans managed to save the incumbent, patrician senator, the fiery McDaniel refused to concede and charged that Cochran won the GOP primary fraudulently.
In the aftermath of that primary, Cruz said that Cochran “stole” the election by recruiting black, Democratic voters to vote for him and said McDaniels’ allegations of impropriety should be “vigorously investigated.”
Here in northern Mississippi, Cruz praised McDaniel as a conservative fighter in his own mold and declined to relitigate the divisive Republican nomination battle. Asked by CNN if he stood by his comments, Cruz said he’s focused on his own run, though he praised McDaniel’s campaign.
“He ran a historic election — built an army across the state of conservatives committed to changing the direction of this country,” Cruz said.
Mississippians said that McDaniel remains a popular figure in the conservative movement — at least one red-and-white McDaniel for Senate sign was spotted in the crowd.
“The election was taken away from him,” said Joe Peacock, who said McDaniel’s imprimatur mattered. “Stolen!”