Wicker, Hyde-Smith urge Republicans not to assume their party will regain control

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - While Republicans are starting to feel pretty happy with results from GOP primaries, Mississippi’s leadership in Washington is sending up warning flags not to assume their party is destined to regain control of the House and Senate.

U.S. senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith have a strong message: the battle isn’t over yet.

On Wednesday, Hyde Smith spoke to the Gulfport Kiwanis Club while Wicker spoke to the Harrison County Republican Club.

“We’re not just going to easily win in November,” Hyde-Smith said. “We have got to really, really work to win in November. And I think the American people will turn out and support those conservative values, but it doesn’t just happen. We’ve got to get engaged, we’ve got to get involved.”

Excitement has been fueled by a sound primary defeat of Republican Liz Cheney in Wyoming, who many believe lost her focus with her constituents, something that could serve as a lesson for others in the party.

“I think the objection was that she was spending all of her time on this Jan. 6 commission and really neglecting all the other important issues,” Wicker said.

Harrison County Republican Club president Tom Carpenter said that in the current political atmosphere, even with a long history of conservative voting, it’s not all about good works that will keep someone in office.

“The rise of personal characteristics and populism is an important facet in American politics, almost as much in other years and prior years. Issues were the predominant thing that mattered in politics,” he said.

In any political landscape, should the senate turn in favor of the GOP in November, Mississippi will have a strong voice.

“Cindy Hyde-Smith will be chairman of the sub-committee of the appropriations committee,” Wicker said. “And Roger Wicker will be chairman of the Armed Services Committee, which will mean everything to our defense industry down here - not only the manufacturers but also the bases we have.”

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