JACKSON In a secretly videoed conversation, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., said her reluctance to join her opponents for a debate is due to her fear that it would give one of them—Republican Chris McDaniel—free publicity.
In the video, which the Daily Journal first published Monday evening[1], a woman at a meet-and-greet on Saturday implored Hyde-Smith to join her Republican opponent for a debate.
"You're smart, you're clever; why won't you debate him?" an unidentified woman asked.
"I love debates," Hyde-Smith replied. "But right now, my opponent does not have enough money to get on TV, and my guys are saying that's like handing him a $200,000 campaign donation because he's way down in the polls, and he's wanting the TV shot."
In the past, Hyde-Smith and her campaign said she could not appear at two since-cancelled debates that were set for October because they conflicted with her Senate schedule[2]. After the Senate went on an unexpected fall recess last week, Hyde-Smith's campaign told the Jackson Free Press she was concerned McDaniel and his supporters would not be "civil" at a debate[3].
Video
Cindy Hyde-Smith Video
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith says in a recent video obtained by the Daily Journal that she won't debate special election opponent Chris McDaniel because she doesn't want to increase his prominence on the campaign trail.
McDaniel blasted Hyde-Smith in a press statement his campaign released just after the video's publication Friday night.
"Cindy Hyde-Smith has been lying to the Mississippi voters, telling them that she can't debate because of her schedule, when in reality she's not doing it
