Geoff Pender

The Clarion-Ledger

After months of milquetoast statements and letting surrogates do any campaign trash talking, incumbent U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran went on the offensive in Hattiesburg on Tuesday, calling his opponent Chris McDaniel "an extremist" who would hurt Mississippi with indiscriminate cuts to federal spending.

Cochran also made his strongest statements to date about McDaniel supporters allegedly sneaking into Cochran's wife's nursing home room and taking photos of her for a political hit piece video and about an investigation into McDaniel campaigners being found by authorities locked in the Hinds County courthouse in the wee hours of the morning after election night with conflicting stories about why they were there.

But his offensive campaign and more hands-on stumping comes late in the game, as Cochran trails McDaniel at least slightly in recent polls since fighting to a draw in last week's primary and heading to a runoff June 24. McDaniel led slightly in the primary, but neither secured more than 50 percent on June 3.

McDaniel continues campaigning on growing anti-Washington, anti-incumbent and tea party sentiment. Cochran is trying to turn the tables, reminding Mississippians what his seniority and clout has done for the state.

"He said he wouldn't even vote for disaster assistance for Mississippi," Cochran said, referring to McDaniel statements early in the race where he demurred on whether he would have supported federal Katrina relief Cochran helped secure. McDaniel later clarified he would have supported the relief spending. One of the Cochran campaign's earliest ads attempted to make hay over McDaniel's comments.

"That's the most outrageous thing I've heard ever from a public official in Mississippi," Cochran said "... He doesn't want any federal dollars used to help out a state like Mississippi after a hurricane has hit the Gulf Coast, like Katrina? Did he go down there to look at what had happened and how much money was going to be required to restore all of that?"

Cochran, 76, has faced questions of his age and whether he was really engaged in his own campaign for a seventh term or up to the task. Media and public access to him had appeared limited by handlers.

McDaniel supporters have seized on this theme, claiming Cochran is too old, too immersed in Washington politics and out of touch with Mississippians. A "Where's Thad?" website was created by McDaniel supporters before the first primary vote.

This week, Cochran is on the campaign trail across the state, making more public appearances and talking with potential voters and media and trying to rev up his campaign. His campaign released the first ad of the cycle where Cochran has addressed the camera directly, saying, "I can do more for Mississippi." He's been hitting numerous spots that have benefitted from his seniority in the Senate and ability to bring home federal dollars. On Tuesday, stops included Forrest General Hospital and the University of Southern Mississippi school of nursing — for which he helped secure $3 million in federal money to help build a new, larger building.

"If not for the support of Sen. Cochran, we would not be where we are today, starting construction on our new facility," USM Dean of Nursing Katherine Nugent told a classroom of nursing students as she gave Cochran a brief tour of the school. The students applauded after Cochran briefly spoke to them. Later, as she showed Cochran a model of the planned new building, Nugent said, "This is so needed. We've increased enrollment 40 percent over the last five years. We appreciate your support."

Of the Katrina relief, Cochran noted he worked hard with others in the state delegation to help save the Gulf Coast from ruin after Katrina.

"(McDaniel) is trying to indict that kind of power and influence in Washington?" Cochran said. "It would be dangerous to have somebody like him elected."

Cochran also talked Tuesday about the incident with his wife in the nursing home and the McDaniel campaigners locked in the courthouse, although Cochran referred to it as "the jail."

"It's bizarre people got arrested doing things at the nursing home where my wife is," Cochran said, "and the jail — people in there after midnight — and these are people working for him and his candidacy? What in the world were they doing up there? I don't think anybody knows all the answers yet. How many people were involved? What were they up to? I'm just raising the question. I don't have the answers. But it sure is bizarre, isn't it? I mean, think about it."

Cochran said that as the runoff nears, "People need to be reminded of things that (McDaniel) has said and done."

"And what he's promised not to do, like vote for the farm bill," Cochran said, "or whether he would vote for programs to help the poor and the needy. We have a lot of federal initiatives and if he's going to take in after all of them and cut the budget, we are going to be the state that suffers the most and to me that's a mistake."

A main Cochran campaign theme since the runoff began is to remind communities what he's helped accomplished — federal support for military bases, universities, hospitals and communities.

At Forrest General Hospital, he was met by hospital administrators, board members, staff and local leaders for a tour.

"I do support him," said Douglas Jones, Forrest General Chief Operating Officer. "From a healthcare standpoint, he has a lot of knowledge, and it would be a shame to lose that knowledge of federal programs … He's been instrumental in a lot of Medicare and Medicaid legislation, not just for us, but across the U.S."

Cochran was campaigning Tuesday in McDaniel's stronghold of the Pine Belt, which gave McDaniel, who lives in nearby Ellisville, large margins in last week's vote. But Cochran in a speech at Forrest General said his family has strong ties to the area, and he grew up visiting his father's family often in nearby Richton. He joked that he grew up playing in the country, picking pecans and doing "all kinds of indecent things with animals" in the area.

Lynn Cartlidge, longtime former Forrest County supervisor, was among the Hattiesburg locals who greeted Cochran on Tuesday.

"I've known him since '72," Cartlidge said. "I've campaigned for him, and I still support him. If we don't get him back in — I don't know what we'd do, in health care, education, keeping industry and jobs here. We need him."

McDaniel on Tuesday had campaign stops scheduled including Meridian, Newton and Forest. His campaign released a new television ad entitled "History."

It says Mississippians on June 3 "made history by voting for conservative Chris McDaniel for U.S. Senate" and that McDaniel vows to "repeal Obamacare entirely, reduce the national debt, cut taxes and term limits for all our politicians."