Chris McDaniel

Christopher Brian McDaniel (born June 28, 1971) is an American attorney, talk radio host, and Republican Party politician who has served in the Mississippi State Senate since 2008.[1][2] McDaniel was a candidate for United States Senate in 2014, but narrowly lost the Republican nomination to incumbent senator Thad Cochran in a runoff election.[3]

This article is about the Mississippi politician. For the Kentucky politician, see Christian McDaniel.

Chris McDaniel
Member of the Mississippi State Senate
from the 42nd district
Assumed office
January 8, 2008
Preceded byStacey Pickering
Personal details
Born
Christopher Brian McDaniel

(1971-06-28) June 28, 1971
Laurel, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationJones County Junior College (AA)
William Carey University (BS)
University of Mississippi (JD)

On February 28, 2018, McDaniel announced his intention to campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate against incumbent senator Roger Wicker.[4] On March 14, 2018, McDaniel withdrew from challenging Wicker and declared his candidacy in the 2018 U.S. Senate special election after Cochran resigned.[5] He failed to advance to the runoff, winning 16.4% of the vote.

Early life and education

McDaniel was born in Laurel, Mississippi.[6][7] He is the only child of Carlos and Charlotte McDaniel.[8] He graduated with honors from Jones County Junior College[6][7] and received a B.S. with honors from William Carey University in 1994.[6][7] He then entered the University of Mississippi School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1997 with a Juris Doctor degree.[6][7][9] McDaniel resides with his family in Ellisville, Mississippi.[6][7]

In 1997, McDaniel entered a two-year federal clerkship with United States District Court Judge Charles W. Pickering.[7] After leaving that position, he joined the law firm Hortman Harlow Bassi Robinson & McDaniel,[7][10] becoming a partner in 2003. His areas of concentration include litigation, insurance defense, corporate law, products liability, commercial litigation, consumer products litigation, mass tort litigation, complex multi-party litigation, legislation, Constitutional law, and civil rights. He is licensed to practice law in Mississippi and Texas.[7][9][11][12] In 2010, he was named one of the top 50 lawyers in Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal.[9][13]

McDaniel is the former host of The Right Side Radio Show on WMXI 98.1 FM in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, nationally syndicated since 2006 by EBN Radio Network and Golden Broadcasters. The show was broadcast nationwide on ABC Radio Networks and the industry standard Starguide III system.[14] It returned to local stations after McDaniel left the show.[15][16]

Political career

McDaniel is a Republican who has served in the Mississippi Senate since 2008.[2]

McDaniel was named 2010 Citizen of the Year by the Laurel Leader Call.[9]

In 2012, McDaniel led a delegation to the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, Texas, for the dedication of a monument to the eight Mississippians who died when the fort was overrun in 1836.[17][18][19]

2014 U.S. Senate campaign

In 2014, McDaniel ran for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Thad Cochran. He was vocal about his intention to repeal Obamacare if elected, and to work toward lowering the national debt.[20] The primary was described as a contest between establishment Republicanism and anti-establishment Tea Party Republicanism.[21] He was endorsed by the Club for Growth PAC[22][23] and the Tea Party Express.[24] In the June 3 Republican primary, McDaniel received 49.6% of the vote and Cochran 49.0%, forcing a June 24 runoff election.[25][26] McDaniel lost the runoff, 49% to 51%.[27]

In the aftermath, the McDaniel campaign claimed there were indications of voter fraud, and that about 3,300 Democrats had voted for Cochran in the runoff. The campaign said it was investigating whether the crossover voting violated Mississippi law.[28] On July 2, McDaniel wrote in a fundraising pitch, "Last week's runoff election was a sham, plain and simple," and charged that Cochran "stole" the nomination.[29] A day after the election results were certified by the state party, Senator Ted Cruz and some Tea Party groups backed an investigation of voter fraud in the runoff election.[30] Cruz also told reporters that groups aligned with the Cochran campaign had run racially charged ads designed to persuade black voters to vote against McDaniel.[30][31] Regarding the ads, McDaniel said that the GOP is "a party that does not need to play the race card to win."[32] On July 17, the Mississippi State Supreme Court rejected McDaniel's request for access to poll books without voters' birthdates blacked out, which his attorneys argued were needed to identify fraudulent votes.[33] In August 2014, a Mississippi judge dismissed McDaniel's challenge.[34] On October 24, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's dismissal in a 4–2 decision.[35]

2018 U.S. Senate campaign

McDaniel originally declared that he would run against Senator Roger Wicker in the 2018 Republican primary.[36][37] On March 5, 2018, Thad Cochran announced he would resign effective April 1, 2018, due to health concerns.[38] Republican Governor Phil Bryant appointed Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the vacancy created by Cochran's retirement.[39] A nonpartisan blanket primary to fill the Senate vacancy for the remainder of Cochran's term was scheduled for November 6, 2018.[40] These developments prompted McDaniel to cease his primary challenge to Wicker and instead run in the blanket primary, saying, "by announcing early, we are asking Mississippi Republicans to unite around my candidacy and avoid another contentious contest among GOP members that would only improve the Democrats’ chances of winning the open seat." He was the second candidate to enter the race. The first, Democrat Mike Espy, declared his candidacy shortly after Cochran announced his resignation.[5][41] Hyde-Smith defeated McDaniel in the primary.[42]

Political positions

Eminent domain

As a first-term senator in 2010, McDaniel urged his fellow State Senators to override Governor Haley Barbour’s veto of eminent domain legislation that would prevent government from taking private land for use by private companies.[43] The override effort failed by two votes, but began a grassroots ballot initiative to amend the Mississippi Constitution. The ballot initiative passed the following year.[44]

Healthcare

On April 9, 2010, McDaniel led a lawsuit seeking to have the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) deemed unconstitutional.[45][46]

LGBT rights and women

McDaniel has said of former Attorney General Janet Reno, "I'm not even sure Janet Reno was a woman".[47] He has said that the Democratic Party is the party of "sex on demand, the party that supports the homosexual agenda."[47] On January 22, 2017, McDaniel responded on Facebook to the 2017 Women's March by referring to marchers as "a bunch of unhappy liberal women" and stated that he opposes using federal funds to pay for birth control, abortion, and medicines for erectile dysfunction such as Viagra.[48]

Immigration

In 2007, McDaniel's immigration policy, as stated on his website, plagiarized text from a number of anti-immigration groups.[49] McDaniel opposes a pathway to citizenship or temporary work permits for undocumented immigrants.[50] He opposes increases in residency permits and work visas.[50]

Views on sexual assault

On September 17, 2018, McDaniel said on an American Family Radio show that sexual assault allegations "99 percent of the time are just absolutely fabricated."[51] McDaniel made this claim[52] in reference to allegations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh, nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Southern secessionism and the Confederacy

In his 2018 Senate campaign, McDaniel's signature issue was a promise to preserve the flag of Mississippi, which bears the Confederate flag. The flag features on McDaniel's campaign materials.[53] McDaniel has spoken at conferences held by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.[54][55][56] In 2006 or 2007, he made statements on his talk show on reparations for slavery, race, and women that Politico, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and other news organizations characterized as controversial.[57][58][59]

On August 15, 2017, McDaniel claimed on his Twitter account that Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate States Army, was opposed to slavery.[60] (Lee accepted "the extinction of slavery" provided for by the Thirteenth Amendment, but believed slavery was good for black people, publicly opposed racial equality, and opposed granting African Americans the right to vote and other political rights.)[61][62][63] McDaniel later defended his views on Lee in a Facebook post that was discovered to have been plagiarized from Dinesh D'Souza.[64]

The website for McDaniel's broadcast show "The Right Side Radio Show" listed League of the South as one of its favorite websites.[47] The group is pro-Southern secessionist, describing itself as a "Southern Nationalist organization that seeks the survival, well-being, and independence of the Southern people."[47] When asked about this in 2018, McDaniel's spokesperson said McDaniel "has never endorsed the League of the South and has nothing to do with them."[47]

Personal life

McDaniel is married to Jill Tullos McDaniel, who was the 1995 Miss Mississippi USA.[65] They have two children. McDaniel is a Southern Baptist.[7][66]

References
  1. "Attorney, Partner of Hortman, Harlow, Bassi, Robinson and McDaniel, PLLC". Billstatus.ls.state.ms.us. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  2. "Senator Chris McDaniel's Biography". Votesmart.org. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  3. Weisman, Jonathan. "Cochran Holds Off Tea Party Challenger in Mississippi". Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  4. "'It's All Downhill From There': McDaniel Jumps Into Mississippi Senate Race".
  5. Costa, Robert; Sullivan, Sean (March 14, 2018). "Insurgent conservative Chris McDaniel switches races in Mississippi". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  6. "Chris McDaniel, District 42 – Jones". Mississippi State Senate. Jackson, Mississippi: State of Mississippi. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  7. "Member Profile, Hon. Sen. Chris McDaniel". Republican National Lawyers Association. Washington, DC. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  8. Daily, Mississippi Conservative (June 1, 2014). "Senator Chris McDaniel: No Joining Hands Across the Aisle".
  9. Personal web page – Biography Archived March 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Hortman Harlow Bassi Robinson & McDaniel, PLLC profile at". Martindale.com. August 10, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  11. "Senator Christopher B. McDaniel Lawyer Profile on". Martindale.com. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  12. "State Bar of Texas". Texasbar.com. September 17, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  13. "Sen. Chris McDaniel profile at". Msbusiness.com. November 21, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  14. "Matrix Media, Inc". Matrix Media, Inc. August 7, 2005. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  15. "The Right Side Radio Program". WMXI. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  16. LRG. "The Right Side Online at". Therightsideamerica.net. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  17. "Mississippians who died at siege of the Alamo to be honored". Wdam.Com. October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  18. "Texas honors Mississippians who fought at the Alamo (Sampling History)". US Senators. November 1, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  19. "Bill Text: MS SC623 | 2012 | Regular Session | Engrossed". LegiScan. March 22, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  20. "TEA Party Challenger Threatens to "Kill" O-Care". The Hill. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  21. "In Mississippi, Chris McDaniel's Senate Bid Is Bolstered by Tea Party Energy". Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  22. McCabe, Neil (December 18, 2013). "Mississippi toss-up: Cochran v. McDaniel tied at 40% in Human Events/Gravis poll". Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  23. "Chris McDaniel (MS-Sen)". PAC Candidates. Club for Growth PAC. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
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  26. Todd, Chuck (June 4, 2014). "Mississippi Runoff Bad News for Thad Cochran". NBCNews.com. New York City: NBCUniversal. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
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  29. Glueck, Katie. "McDaniel fundraising to challenge Miss. runoff". Politico. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  30. Espo, David. "Cruz, Tea Party Groups Want Probe of Miss. Runoff". Associated Pres. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  31. "Cruz wants investigation of Cochran-McDaniel runoff results". CNN. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  32. "Chris McDaniel Opens Legal Challenge in Mississippi GOP Primary Race". ABC News. August 4, 2014.
  33. Pender, Geoff. "Court rules against McDaniel in voting records appeal". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
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  36. Taylor, Jessica. "Mississippi GOP Senator Gets A Familiar Challenger From The Right". NPR. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
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  39. Eric Bradner; Kaitlan Collins; Ashley Killough. "Governor picks Cindy Hyde-Smith to replace Cochran". CNN.
  40. Jacobs, Ben (March 5, 2018). "Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran announces he is stepping down". the Guardian. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  41. Hampton, Paul (March 14, 2018). "Chris McDaniel softens his insurgency as he switches race". Sun Herald. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  42. https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/08/u-s-chamber-poll-cindy-hyde-smith-leads-mike-espy-chris-mcdaniel/590942002/
  43. Harrison, Bobby. "McDaniel has made waves in the Senate". Daily Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  44. "Mississippi Voters Approve Eminent Domain Restrictions". Fox News. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  45. Freedman, Adam (June 15, 2010). "Roe v. Obamacare at". Nationalreview.com. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  46. Pickert, Kate (March 7, 2011). "Health Care Law's Legal War: Personal, Partisan Battles". TIME. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  47. Kaczynski, Andrew. "GOP Senate hopeful's radio show listed pro-southern secession group as a 'favorite' website". CNN. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  48. Williams, Angela (January 23, 2017). "Chris McDaniel slams 'unhappy liberal women' after march". Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  49. "In First Run For Office, Chris McDaniel Plagiarized Immigration Plan". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  50. "A Big Shift Is Happening In American Views On Immigration". Business Insider. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  51. "Fact check: McDaniel's claim that women fake '99 percent' of sexual assault claims". Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  52. "Are 99% of Rape Allegations 'Absolutely Fabricated'?". Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  53. Pittmann, Ashton (September 9, 2018). "It's all fake': in Trump's heartland, talk of White House chaos rings hollow". The Guardian.
  54. Murphy, Tim. "Mississippi Senate Candidate Says He Didn't Speak at Neo-Confederate Conference". Mother Jones. Mother Jones. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  55. Strauss, Daniel. "McDaniel Now Says He Only Attended One Neo-Confederate Event". talkingpointsmemo.com. Talking Points Memo. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  56. "McDaniel, others refute story about him at Confederate event". www.clarionledger.com. Clarion Ledge. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  57. Schultheis, Emily. "Chris McDaniel audio: Slavery, race, women". Politico. Politico. Retrieved June 10, 2014. Asked, for example, about reparations for slavery, McDaniel said: 'If they pass reparations, and my taxes are going up, I ain’t paying taxes.' And on having to learn Spanish, he said: 'You’ll have to learn just enough to ask where the bathroom is. Baños. Baños. That’s what you say.' He also, when asked to translate 'Do you have a sister?' replied, 'What about mamacita? … Mamacita works….I’m an English-speaking Anglo. I have no idea what it means, actually, but I’ve said it a few times, just for, you know, fun. And I think it basically means, "Hey, hot mama." Or, you know, "You’re a fine looking young thing."'
  58. "Miss. Senate Hopeful Chris McDaniel Riffed on 'Mamacita,' Reparations". The Wall Street Journal. April 10, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  59. "Don't Call Me 'Mamacita.' I Am Not Your Mommy". NPR. June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  60. Moye, David (August 16, 2018). "The Internet Schools GOP Senate Candidate Chris McDaniel About Robert E. Lee And Slavery". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  61. John McKee Barr. Loathing Lincoln: An American Tradition from the Civil War to the Present (LSU Press, 2014), 59.
  62. Eric Foner. "The Making and the Breaking of the Legend of Robert E. Lee". New York Times (August 28, 2017).
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