| − | McDaniel is a candidate in the special election scheduled for November 6, 2018, to fill the twenty-six months remaining in Cochran's term. After Cochran announced that he will, as of April 1, leave his seat for health reasons after more than thirty-nine years in the office, Republican [[Governor]] [[Phil Bryant]] by-passed McDaniel and appointed a former Democrat, Cindy Hyde-Smith, the state agricultural and commerce commissioner, to hold the seat until the special election. In a statement, McDaniel said that he was: | + | McDaniel is a candidate in the special election scheduled for November 6, 2018, to fill the twenty-six months remaining in Cochran's term. After Cochran announced that he will, as of April 1, leave his seat for health reasons after more than thirty-nine years in the office, Republican [[Governor]] [[Phil Bryant]] by-passed McDaniel and appointed a former Democrat, [[Cindy Hyde-Smith]], the state agricultural and commerce commissioner, to hold the seat until the special election. In a statement, McDaniel said that he was: |