11 months ago
Donald Trump’s campaign is set to announce on Monday that he has won nearly across-the-board support from top Mississippi Republican officeholders.
Among those set to back the former president include both of Mississippi's U.S. senators, all three Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation and 8 of 9 statewide elected officials. The only statewide elected official not endorsing is Michael Waton, who as the secretary of state is responsible for overseeing Mississippi’s elections. He has remained neutral.
The announcement is the latest signal that the Republican party is rallying around Trump as the first primary contests near. The state’s primary will be held March 12, the week after Super Tuesday.
In recent months, Trump has unveiled similar slates of endorsements in more than a half-dozen other states. His campaign has promoted the endorsements as a sign of strength in a race where polls have shown him with a wide lead over his primary rivals.
Trump has been personally involved in securing endorsements, in many instances placing calls to officeholders who are still neutral. Over the weekend, he had a call with Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, and another with a broader group of Mississippi Republicans who are endorsing him.
Brian Jack, a senior Trump campaign aide and a former Trump White House political director, has coordinated the state-by-state endorsement push. Will Russell, a former Trump White House aide, has been tapped to lead the campaign’s Mississippi operation.
The endorsement race in the 2024 GOP primary has been lopsided. Combining Mississippi endorsements with other endorsements compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com, Trump has now won 17 endorsements from senators while his primary rivals haven’t received any. He has 89 endorsements from House Republicans, compared to 5 for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and 1 for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Seven governors have announced their support for Trump, and just two for DeSantis.
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