What impact could another Trump presidency have in Mississippi?

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. Now we look ahead to how this could upend the situation for other positions of power.

Republican strategist Henry Barbour says it will take time to sort through the election data and figure out whether certain groups, such as African-American men or Latinos, voted for Donald Trump in larger numbers on Tuesday.

That's because there are no exit elections in Mississippi.

Barbour says specific counties and each of these demographics need to be examined to get the kind of details you see from other states.

“I assume we were doing as well as the rest of the country,” Barbour noted. “The country really wanted change and that was clear.”

Meanwhile, several Mississippi Republicans maintain close ties to Trump.

“For Cindy Hyde Smith, she will have a chance to move up in the Senate,” Barbour said. “But there is also a lot of talk that President Trump, a good friend of hers, would like to add her to the USDA Cabinet.”

He says this could create a kind of domino effect because the governor would then have to appoint someone to serve the remainder of her term.

But Barbour says Hyde-Smith isn't the only name being mentioned. Tate Reeves' name is being floated as a potential member of the government. Barbour says that would be a decision he would have to make, but if he chose to accept federal office it would get more movement going.

“Of course he would resign as governor,” said Barbour, describing the next steps if Reeves accepted a position. “The lieutenant governor would take over as governor, and again there was a domino effect. So you just never know.”

House Minority Leader Robert Johnson expressed a very different view of the election results.

“I mean, he's literally telling us he's taking us back,” Rep. Robert Johnson noted. “Make America Great Again.” I am a black man in America. I am 65 years old. I don't want to go back to any America that was before where we are, you know, I just don't. And for me that’s not progress.”

Johnson wrote on social media: “We just elected a president who will turn the country into Mississippi.”

“When I say it's like Mississippi, what that means is that people are content to leave things the way they are as long as they have the personality they like in leadership,” Johnson added .

He says he's confident that regardless of what happens in Washington, Mississippi state lawmakers can focus on developing policies necessary for the state.

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