While the president does not currently plan to endorse Cindy Hyde-Smith, the White House will continue to monitor the race, one of the administration officials said. | Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo White House opposed Republican picked to replace Cochran Gov. Phil Bryant went ahead with his planned appointment of former Democrat Cindy Hyde-Smith.

White House officials this week told Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant that President Donald Trump did not plan to campaign for or endorse Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith if she was appointed to the state’s open Senate seat, saying they were worried that the former Democrat would lose.

Bryant responded that he intended to pick Hyde-Smith for the post, anyway. He went ahead and formally announced Hyde-Smith, who had previously been serving as the state agricultural commissioner, as his selection Wednesday, praising her “intellect, compassion, toughness and determination to get things done.”


During a phone call Tuesday, administration officials told Bryant that Hyde-Smith’s past history as a Democrat would hobble her in the special election contest for the seat being vacated by longtime GOP Sen. Thad Cochran. Hyde-Smith switched parties in 2010 while serving in the state Senate.

The conversation was described by two White House aides with direct knowledge of the call.

The message underscored the profound misgivings the administration and senior Republicans have about the Hyde-Smith pick.

Republicans are deeply concerned that Chris McDaniel, an anti-establishment conservative state senator who is running for the seat, will use Hyde-Smith’s past party affiliation against her in the race. In recent days, the White House and other senior Republicans reviewed polling conducted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee showing Hyde-Smith in third place in a prospective match-up, trailing McDaniel and a prospective Democratic candidate.

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A spokesman for the governor, Clay Chandler, would only say that, “Gov. Bryant isn’t going to respond to leaks from unnamed sources in Washington.”

“Today is about Mississippi making history, and Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith becoming Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith when she is sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence,” he added.

Hyde-Smith and the NRSC did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump had initially lobbied Bryant to appoint himself to the seat, but the governor declined. Many in the party had hoped that Bryant would select Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann for the post. The White House has been in touch with the governor over the course of the past three weeks about his selection.

While the president does not currently plan to endorse Hyde-Smith, the White House will continue to monitor the race, one of the administration officials said.

Administration officials do not want Trump to embarrass himself by weighing in for a candidate who is seriously hobbled. It was a scenario that played out in last year’s Alabama Senate special election, when the president got behind appointed Sen. Luther Strange in a GOP runoff, only to see him fall short against former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore.

White House aides briefed Trump on Tuesday prior to speaking with Bryant. They recommended that, for now, the president should not endorse or campaign for Hyde-Smith should she get the appointment. Trump, according to one person familiar with the conversation, did not object.

The 80-year-old Cochran earlier this month announced his resignation effective April 1, citing health problems. The decision set off a special election to be held on Nov. 6. The winner will serve out the remainder of Cochran’s term, which expires in 2020.

Following Cochran’s announcement, McDaniel declared that he would be a candidate for the seat. McDaniel, who in 2014 waged a hard-fought but ultimately unsuccessful campaign against Cochran, had earlier launched a 2018 primary campaign against GOP Sen. Roger Wicker.

But with the president voicing his support for Wicker, McDaniel decided that running for the seat being vacated by Cochran would be a better play.

