MS-Sen: State GOP has a clear strategy to unify the party and attack the Democrats

The head of the Mississippi Republican Party outlined a clear and focused strategy for the GOP to maintain control of the two Senate seats up for grabs in November's midterm election on "The Jungle," a Mississippi Today election podcast.

Lucien Smith, the state GOP chairman, said during the interview that unifying the state's Republicans was crucial, and that they needed to emphasize the political damage a Democratic senator could do to President Donald Trump's policy agenda.

"If we allow infighting and a Democrat is elected here, there's a good possibility that good policy the president is proposing could still pass the House but be stopped in a Chuck Schumer-run Senate," Smith said on the podcast. "I don't think Republicans are going to allow that to happen."

What's the strategy?

Smith discussed how the party planned to attack the Democratic challengers: State Rep. David Baria running against Sen. Roger Wicker, and former Clinton administration Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy against Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Baria, who has embraced traditional liberal values rather than running as a "blue dog" Democrat, will be painted as too liberal to be successful in Mississippi.

"I think one of the jobs of either party is to define the up and comers on the other side," Smith said. "So that's something we'll certainly take a look at. I think David is doing a lot of that (undercutting his message) on his own. He is making very clear that he is a liberal."

For Espy, the GOP will focus on the perception of corruption. Espy was forced resign as agriculture secretary in 1994 over questions about his acceptance of gifts from companies and individuals in the industry, and he was charged (but later acquitted) on 30 charges related to those gifts.

"I don't know Mike personally, and he may be a phenomenal individual, but he does have the rare distinction of being one of the people the Clintons found too corrupt to have in their administration, having asked him to resign just a couple years before the indictments came down," Smith said.

Other key strategies

Smith spoke on the importance of reaching all members of the party, making sure that whether voters opt for Hyde-Smith or the further-right-leaning Chris McDaniel, it's important to choose the Republican candidate.

The open Supreme Court seat vacated by Justice Anthony Kennedy will also be a key issue, and Smith wants to make sure Democratic candidates are forced to answer whether they will support President Donald Trump's nominee.