The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Don't be fooled, Mississippi. Democrat Mike Espy is no southern Democrat — he’s a radical liberal with a track record of supporting tax hikes and stifling economic growth with job-killing policies.

Espy, who is running in the runoff election for the U.S. Senate against Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, has been able to keep a low profile during the chaos of the 2018 midterms, and now has an outside chance of becoming the next senator from Mississippi. That would be a disaster for the entire country, just as it was the last time we sent him to Congress.

Espy was a registered lobbyist for a foreign dictator currently on trial in international court for crimes against humanity, including rape, torture and murder. He was paid $750,000 for a three-month contract. He claims that he canceled after one month and received only $400,000, but he lied about that. He used the money to pay tax liens.

As a member of the House of Representatives, Espy routinely voted to raise income taxes and federal taxes on fuel, automobiles, beer, wine, and telephone services, and voted to increase the debt limit by nearly $1 trillion.

Espy even voted to increase payroll taxes and impose an unemployment insurance surtax, harming businesses and workers alike.

He was also a huge fan of NAFTA, which was arguably one of the worst trade deals in U.S. history.

On immigration, Espy co-sponsored a bill that would have spent taxpayer money on medical treatment for illegal immigrants, and supported another bill that would have required the Justice Department to allow illegal immigrants charged with aggravated felonies to remain in the U.S. until the completion of their court hearings.

Mike Espy may love taxing you and supporting illegal immigrants — but he also likes to trample on your constitutional rights. Espy supported limiting the Second Amendment by co-sponsoring a bill that would have enhanced penalties for the possession of standard hunting rifles and pistols.

He’s also a pro-abortion extremist who supported the Freedom of Choice Act, which was widely referred to as “abortion on demand.”

To top things off, Espy had a cloud of corruption hanging over him during his time in public office, leading to his indictment on 39 felony charges in 1997 for accepting gifts and trips from companies and lobbyists while he held a cabinet post in the Clinton administration.

Ironically, the New York-based magazine GQ argued that he’s actually a fair-minded moderate, writing that “Epsy also boasts the type of moderate bona fides that one needs to be a Democrat in Mississippi: He endorsed Republican governor Haley Barbour in 2007, and made sure to profess his admiration and respect for Cochran when he announced his Senate bid.”

That’s not moderation; it’s opportunism. Voters in Mississippi need to understand that’s who Espy really is: an extreme liberal opportunist

Besides, when did Mississippi start listening to the political advice of GQ Magazine? That profile article was simply an attempt by a liberal media outlet to influence an election in the south and elect more Democrats to work against Donald Trump in the Senate.

We know that Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith stands for Mississippi values, and we don’t need sanctimonious New York liberals to tell us that. We can just look at her sterling conservative voting record.

Do Mississippi voters really believe that Espy can be trusted in the swamp? He’s proven to be a tried and true liberal, and a less-than-ethical politician.

Mississippi needs fresh thinking in Washington to stand tall and rise above politics-as-usual. Let's keep that in mind on November 27, and vote to keep Cindy Hyde-Smith in the U.S. Senate to support President Trump and fight for conservative Mississippi values.

John Parker, Chairman of the Jones County Republicans