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Professor Glenn Antizzo Analyzes Mississippi and USA Politics


Mississippi College student Hunter Foster, 19, of Brookhaven encouraged classmates to vote for U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran and give the Republican a seventh term in the Senate.

Hunter Foster traveled quite a distance to vote for U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran.

With barely enough time to brush his teeth, the 19-year-old Mississippi College student from Brookhaven drove 62 miles to his hometown in Lincoln County to cast his ballot for Cochran Tuesday morning.

The president of the MC campus Republicans, Hunter quickly returned to the Clinton campus to encourage classmates to vote to give the 76-year-old GOP leader a seventh term in the U.S. Senate.

It’s his invaluable experience, seniority on Capitol Hill and lengthy service to the Magnolia State that convinced Foster to support Cochran. After a few moments for a brief interview and a photo, Hunter returned to work under a large Thad for Mississippi tent on the Quad to talk to more MC students.

The majority of Mississippi voters agreed with Hunter Foster. Cochran received about 59 percent of the vote to 38 percent for Democrat Travis Childers. It marked the most difficult fight for Cochran during his 42-year political career. He barely survived a bruising primary battle earlier this year against tea party-backed Republican Chris McDaniel of Ellisville.

With the Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate following some huge wins Tuesday night, MC political science professor Glenn Antizzo kept tabs on media reports for hours and analyzed the results. Students in his class on Southern politics will have much to talk about in the weeks ahead on the Clinton campus.

“Thad Cochran’s victory is likely a big win for Mississippi,” Antizzo said. “With the GOP in the majority, Cochran’s seniority will pay handsome dividends.”

Look for Cochran to possibly return as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee or become the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, he said. “Cochran will be in a unique position to guide much needed federal aid to our state.”

Overall, Antizzo sees the Republican triumphs as “a clear repudiation of President Obama.”

The MC political scientist expects a Republican-led U.S. House and U.S. Senate in 2015 will begin passing a series of bills that President Obama will have to either sign or veto.

The 2016 presidential race is already on.

Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State under President Obama, appears to be the Democratic front-runner, but she is likely to face opposition from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, he said.

On the Republican side of the aisle, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush “would be the favorite of the GOP establishment, but he carries the legacy of the Bush name, with all of the assets and liabilities that might encompass,” Antizzo said.

GOP leaders like U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, or U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida are among others being mentioned as potential White House prospects in 2016.