GOP political candidates align themselves with Trump

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – In the middle of summer, the primary elections are heating up in Mississippi.

Candidates are using the last two weeks to run political ads.

They may not be the same type of ads you’d see in other parts of the country.

It appears that Mississippi GOP political candidates are aligning themselves with President Trump more than ever before.

Political Science professor Dr. Brian Anderson said this is no surprise.

“It makes sense that if there’s a Republican president in D.C. that especially gubernatorial candidates in Mississippi who are conservative will seek to at least in some ways align themselves with Trump’s policies,” said Anderson.

Anderson said this is unique to southern conservative states.

“If a republican in New York were to make mention of Trump in ways we might see in Mississippi in a campaign ad, that’s a definite risk. Conservatives there are not as great in number, not as secure in feeling like the state is a reflection of their values,” said Anderson.

So do voters care about what a candidate will do? Or do they care about who a candidate knows?

Longtime conservative Jack Forbus said it could be dangerous for a candidate to rely solely on political affiliation to support their campaign.

“You’ve got to be real careful about that because they’re defining who you are as opposed to you defining yourself by how you are on issues,” said Forbus.

“I believe conservatives need to be concerned that at some point there could be something Trump says or does that makes people stand back and go, Ok is he really someone we can really trust,” said Anderson.

Forbus said he and the people he associates with are more concerned with policy than affiliation.

“I vote on issues, not who they’ve aligned themselves with…I want to know about what they’re going to do about the highways in Mississippi. I want to know about what they’re going to do about taxes in Mississippi. I want to know what we’re going to do about education in Mississippi,” said Forbus.

Experts are predicting conservative candidates to align themselves even closer with President Trump in the future.

“I bet at some point in the general election race, whoever has the Republican nomination will invite the President to come down, so I think there will be a more deliberate connection with Trump as they move on to directly challenge the Democrat,’ said Anderson.

The Mississippi primary election is August 6. The general election is set for November 5.

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