JACKSON — Mississippi Democratic House Minority Leader David Baria’s chances to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker came to an end at just after 8 p.m. on election night—an hour after Mississippi polls closed.
With more than 96 percent of the vote in, Wicker led Baria 59-39. Wicker will now go to Washington, D.C., for this third consecutive term.
“I start tomorrow,” he said at his joint party with U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith at the Westin hotel in downtown Jackson. “I’ve got a few more weeks in this term and look forward to the next term in January. But we’ve got to keep working starting tomorrow.”
Wicker speculates that he will soon be up for chairman of the commerce committee.
“Continuing as we’re seeing across the country with this great red wall that we’re seeing in the great heartland, if I am chairman of the commerce committee, we’re going to work on the wide range of issues there to make Mississippi better and to make America stronger, including rural broadband,” he said.
Less than a mile away, Baria said he made two attempts to call Wicker before taking the stage around 9:30 p.m. to hesitantly address his election-night watch party at the King Edward Hotel in downtown Jackson.
“As you’re aware, AP has called this race,” Baria, a Bay St. Louis resident, said. “I’m a little uncomfortable standing before you when my beloved Gulf Coast counties haven’t even been counted, yet. But we all trust the AP to know what they’re talking about.”
Despite his discomfort, he spoke optimistically about his campaign setting the groundwork for change.
“What we built together, we’re going to carry forward into 2019,” he said.
Change Delayed
Next year, Mississippi will vote for a governor to replace Gov. Phil Bryant, who faces term limits. Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat, has already thrown his hat in the ring, and Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is expected to join the race, as well. Baria pointed out that members of the Legislature will also be on the ballot.
“We have built a political infrastructure that we have not had in the Democratic Party in Mississippi for 20 years,” Baria said. “This is important, folks, because we need to sustain this and improve this going forward, and we have elections next year where we can do that.”
He spoke with pride about his challenge against Wicker. Baria raised more money than any Mississippi Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate since 2008, with more than $317,000 in the third fundraising quarter that began July 1 and ended Sept. 30, bringing his total since March to nearly $850,000. He rejected corporate PAC (political action committee) money throughout his campaign, preferring individual contributions instead.
“I want you to know that your investment of time and resources and money is the foundation from which change is going to come—and trust me, change will come,” he said. “It’s just a little bit delayed tonight.”
Baria knows that his money pales in comparison to Wicker, who amassed nearly $434,000 in the third quarter, bringing his total for the cycle to just under $5.8 million.
“We ran a credible campaign against far greater resources,” Baria said. “And I hope that despite our loss tonight, you’re just as proud of our campaign team and the campaign that we ran.”
‘Love and Happiness’
Baria’s political director, Pam Shaw, swayed her hips to the Bruno Mars’ chorus in Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” during the party because she liked the music, not because it matched how she felt inside.
“We knew this was a heavy lift,” Shaw told the Jackson Free Press during a dance break. “So when David said what we were trying to do is build an infrastructure, that’s the reason why I got onboard. It’s a loss. It’s a defeat and a loss, but the battle is not over. Democrats have lost for a long time in Mississippi.”
