Chris McDaniel, a conservative state senator who waged an unsuccessful 2014 primary against longtime GOP Sen. Thad Cochran. | Getty GOP showdown: McDaniel expected to challenge Wicker for Senate

Mississippi Republican Chris McDaniel is expected to announce later this week that he will wage a 2018 primary challenge against GOP Sen. Roger Wicker, according to two people briefed on his plans.

McDaniel, a conservative state senator who waged an unsuccessful 2014 primary bid against longtime GOP Sen. Thad Cochran, has scheduled a rally on Wednesday afternoon in Ellisville, Miss. McDaniel is slated to hold a Facebook Live event on Monday evening to encourage people to attend the rally.


He has recruited two senior Republican strategists, Rick Tyler and John Yob, to assist him. Tyler most recently worked as a spokesman for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign, and was a staffer on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s 2012 White House bid. Yob was a top aide on Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The expected announcement comes ahead of the state’s March 1 filing deadline. McDaniel’s plans have been the subject of speculation for months. With the 80-year-old Cochran's health in decline, many believed that McDaniel would run for the seat should it become vacant.

McDaniel has been preparing for a comeback bid since his narrow 2014 loss. A pro-McDaniel super PAC, Remember Mississippi, has been established. Through the end of 2017, it had around $850,000 on hand and had received checks from GOP mega-donors Richard Uihlein and Robert Mercer.

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Wicker has been preparing for a potential showdown with McDaniel, and through the end of last year had over $4.1 million on hand. But those close to the 45-year-old McDaniel insist the low-profile incumbent is beatable in a primary that could be dominated by conservative voters.

McDaniel’s possible entry has long worried establishment Republicans, who believe he could lose a general election or damage Wicker in a primary. In 2014, senior Republicans rallied behind Cochran in order to block McDaniel.

The prospect of a bloody GOP fight could provide an opening for Democrats. Brandon Presley, a top Democratic recruit who’d had conversations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), but pulled out of the race earlier this year after concluding McDaniel was unlikely to run, said he was sticking by his decision to sit out the race.

“I have not changed my mind and have no plans to run,” said Presley, who is the chair of the Northern District of the Mississippi Public Service Commission and is seen as a strong contender in the race on his own record and with the family name of Elvis Presley to run on.

The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee will do what is necessary to defend Wicker, said the campaign arm's chairman Cory Gardner of Colorado.

“Sen. Wicker’s been an incredible senator for the state of Mississippi ... he will have our 100 percent support,” Gardner said. “We will stand with him every step of the way.”

Gardner did not rule out spending NRSC money to help Wicker if needed. Wicker chaired the committee in 2016 and successfully defended the Senate majority.

Edward-Isaac Dovere and Burgess Everett contributed to this report.



CORRECTION: The original version of this story misspelled the name of the city where Chris McDaniel will hold his rally on Wednesday. It will be held in Ellisville, Miss.