Political notebook: Some MS Dems stayed home on Nov. 5. Why?

Ever since Donald Trump won a lopsided victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, many have been researching how she lost by a worse margin than sitting President Joe Biden. 
The answer might be as simple as this: Some Democrats simply didn’t vote, and that trend was true in Mississippi. 
Analyzing election data from Mississippi and the nation, turnout was low across the board, but the GOP won by a larger percentage of ballots cast in the state than in some previous presidential elections.  
According to Dallas Breen, the Stennis Institute’s executive director, many Democratic voters in swing counties did not see enough of a separation between Harris and Biden.
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Not wanting to vote for Trump but also not seeing a reformer in Harris, many Mississippi Democrats just decided to stay home on Election Day, Breen said. 
“From what we are seeing, you just had a lot of 50/50 counties, and there was a bigger drop off of Democrats not coming to vote than Republicans,” Breen said. “In years past, Democratic candidates were typically disconnected from that because they were senators, secretaries of state, etc.” 
That theory is also illustrated by the fact that Trump won six Mississippi counties that went for Biden in 2020, including some in the Delta.
 Early last week, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, finally spoke on what state politicos had been wondering for weeks: Will she become the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture? 
Her answer may not have a huge ripple effect, but it did reaffirm her bid for reelection in 2026.
“It’s an honor to be mentioned as a potential nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, but my plans are to remain in the Senate and continue to deliver for the people of Mississippi,” Hyde-Smith wrote in a press release. “As a former state agriculture commissioner and with my current committee assignments, I remain wholeheartedly committed to the ag community, its growth, and its success.” 
With Hyde-Smith out, the question remains if any Mississippi politician will get a seat at Trump’s table. Whether that comes through an appointment or semi-regular trips to the White House over the next four years remains to be seen.  
For the second time since taking office, U.S. House Rep. Michael Guest, R-Dist. 3, took the national spotlight, though it was likely unwanted.
Guest, who chairs the House Ethics Committee, told reporters Wednesday afternoon that a report on Trump’s now-former U.S. Attorney General pick Matt Gaetz’ alleged sexual misconduct and drug abuse was not going to be released.  
Over the last week, many had called on the committee to release the report to the Senate so when Gaetz came before an appointment committee, it would have all the facts. Others called on the Senate not to approve of the pick altogether.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, had said since Gaetz resigned from Congress when Trump appointed him, the report could not be released. Gaetz bowed out of the appointment on Thursday.
Guest did not respond to requests for comment on the Gaetz report. Nor did Sen. Roger Wicker or Hyde-Smith respond to whether they would vote to approve Gaetz’ appointment if it came before the full Senate. 
“Democrats would have never nominated a candidate like Gaetz to anything,” U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Dist.3, said in a statement to the Clarion ledger about the former AG pick. “(Gaetz) demeans the office of Attorney General. Shame on the Republicans for embarrassing themselves.” 
As of the afternoon on Nov. 15, the Hinds County Election Commission had yet to send its final tally of absentee and affidavit ballots to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.  
When it appeared that the commissioners might be pushing the count to the 5 p.m. deadline to submit them to, Mississippi Supreme Court Central District candidate and State Sen. Jenifer Branning’s attorney Spencer Ritchie filed a lawsuit in Hinds County Circuit Court to pressure them into finishing on time, he said.
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Branning, a Republican from Philadelphia, has been on the record saying she is a constitutional conservative and would not “legislate from the bench. She has also been endorsed by the Mississippi GOP.  
MSOS Communications Director Elizabeth Jonson confirmed after 6 p.m. on Nov. 15 that Hinds County had sent in its finalized results. The lawsuit was then dismissed, Ritchie told the Clarion Ledger in a text message.  
Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at [email protected] or 972-571-2335