GOP/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/ TRUMP PEOPLE: “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 [3-21-18], praising her ‘intellect, compassion, toughness and determination to get things done.’
During a phone call Tuesday [2-20-18], 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.”
–Alex Isenstadt, “White House opposed Republican picked to replace Cochran,” Politco. com, Mar. 21, 2018 1:47pm