Earlier this month, Mississippi state senator Chris McDaniel (R) accomplished the impressive feat of winning the popular vote in the Mississippi Republican primary and forcing four-decade long incumbent Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) into a runoff. The runoff is now upon us, and McDaniel joined Glenn on radio this morning to discuss Tuesday’s election.
Despite being far outspent in the primary race, McDaniel managed to win the popular vote. Depending on which poll results you look at, McDaniel secured anywhere from 49.5% or 49.8% of the popular vote – just tenths of a percentage away from the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. Cochran received just under 49% of the vote. Thomas Carey, the seldom-mentioned third challenger in the race, received less than about 1.5% of the vote.
When it comes to poll numbers ahead of Tuesday’s runoff, McDaniel seems to be in pretty good shape, and he feels good about the momentum his campaign has.
“We feel great. We've had momentum. The ground troops are fired up. People in this state understand that a change has to take place in Washington, DC,” McDaniel said. “The city is broken. It's corrupt. We're tired of the backroom deals and the favoritism and the cronyism. And they understand the only way to change all of that is to send someone new to Washington. That's why we won three weeks ago. That's why we're going to win tomorrow.”
Glenn asked McDaniel to share his thoughts on some of the most pressing issues facing the country and the government. For starters, Glenn asked McDaniel what he would do to fix the broken immigration system.
“Lawlessness always invites more lawlessness… We have to be a nation of laws. And we have to enforce the laws. We have to close the border, period,” he said. “Senator Cochran has voted… for amnesty… That's bad policy for this government because, naturally, illegal immigration is wrong. It hurts Americans. But secondly, we lose respect with the law. And that makes us lose faith even more with our government. So we have to do the things that are right by our Constitution and by our statutory law. Thus far, the politicians haven't had the guts or the will to do that.”
When it comes to ISIS and its growing control of Iraq and Syria, McDaniel said he is not interested in being the world’s policeman.
“We cannot continue to be the world's police force. It's not in our charter mission. It's not in our Constitution,” he said. “We have to take care of our own. We have to take care of Americans and that begins by making sure that we don't intervene in every imaginable conflict. So I love the military. I come from a military family. But I've seen too many of my friends go off and serve and come back and question what it was they were doing.”
You can learn more about McDaniel’s campaign HERE.