A Senate Candidate Sent His Opponent This Really, Really Intense Letter

The two Republican candidates in a bitter Mississippi primary escalated their feud on Wednesday, as the two campaigns continued to trade allegations after the weekend arrest of a local activist and blogger.

The campaign of Chris McDaniel, a state representative and intra-party challenger to incumbent Thad Cochran, released an "open letter" from McDaniel to Cochran. The letter blasts Cochran for "shameful slander" over the past several weeks - and then things got personal.

McDaniel went on to say he has been "forced to reconsider" whether he respects Cochran as a "man of honor." He also described the senator's conduct "an embarrassment to our great state."

"Mississippi deserves better than this," McDaniel wrote.

McDaniel also reiterated his call for Cochran to participate in a primary debate using equally emotional language.

"You have refused to come home to Mississippi and debate," McDaniel said. "Until then, I will not engage either your campaign or the liberal media in their absurd witch hunt. No matter how many press releases your campaign puts out, I will simply not stoop to your level."

The letter comes as tensions between the two candidates have ratcheted up over the past few days. Cochran's campaign has accused McDaniel's team of being behind the actions of Clayton Thomas Kelly, a local blogger who was arrested last weekend after police said he snuck into a nursing home to snap a photo of Cochran's unsuspecting wife that was used in a video designed to fuel rumors of a romantic relationship between the senator and his executive assistant.

Meanwhile, the McDaniel campaign has denied any involvement with Kelly and accused Cochran of attempting to exploit the situation. Specifically, Cochran has faced criticism for waiting weeks after finding out about the photo before hiring an attorney, who conducted an investigation and handed over information to police three weeks later.

On Wednesday the Cochran's team hosted a press call featuring an attorney, Scott Newton, who has not worked for the campaign. Newton suggested that McDaniel, an attorney, may have violated the Mississippi Bar Association's rules of conduct by not immediately reporting Kelly's video to authorities.

"In my opinion, the Cochran campaign took the measured approach," Newton said.

On the call, Cochran spokesman Jordan Russell also rejected McDaniel's plea for a debate, saying it "wouldn't be very productive."

Read McDaniel's full letter below:

Dear Senator Cochran,

When I announced my candidacy for the U.S. Senate I told my supporters that I respected you as a man of honor as well as your longtime service to our state. I emphasized that I decided to run for the U.S. Senate simply because we have fundamental differences on some of the most important policy issues facing our nation today.

Sadly, the actions you campaign has recently taken have forced me to reconsider my position.

Over the past several weeks, your campaign has resorted to shameful slander, even going so far as to call me a "criminal" without a shred of evidence to back up these accusations.

No doubt, many political campaigns resort to juvenile behavior when they are down in the polls, but this kind of slander goes beyond childish pranks. It is, frankly, an embarrassment to our great state. Mississippi deserves better than this.

Senator, if you are inclined to cast aspersions on my honor and integrity then I call upon you to do it to my face in a debate forum. (We are both grown men capable of engaging in a spirited debate about our differences. There is no need to hide behind campaign surrogates.)

Many television stations across Mississippi have extended debate invitations to our campaigns and I remain more than willing to participate in any of the debates we've both been asked to join.

To date, you have refused to come home to Mississippi and debate.

Until then, I will not engage either your campaign or the liberal media in their absurd witch hunt. No matter how many press releases your campaign puts out, I will simply not stoop to your level. Win or lose, I'd like to be able to wake up on June 4^th and be proud of the primary campaign I ran on behalf of Mississippi. Trailing in the polls, your campaign has made it apparent they will say and do anything to win.

Instead, we will continue to talk to voters about the issues they care about. And we will also continue to educate voters on your record, including your votes to fund Obamacare, your support for tax increases, your many votes to increase your own pay, and your support for billions of dollars in wasteful spending like the Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska.

These are legitimate issues and these are the kind of policy differences this campaign should be about.

Sincerely,

Chris McDaniel
Republican Candidate for U.S. Senate
from Mississippi