Will Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith face a serious primary challenge?

After Democrat Mike Espy announced his 2020 run against Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith earlier this week, a rematch of 2018 seemed inevitable.

Espy and Hyde-Smith are both established candidates with long political histories in Mississippi. 

But in 2018, Hyde-Smith did face a scare from a hardline-conservative, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who nearly toppled her predecessor, Thad Cochran.

In the end, McDaniel only got 16 percent of the vote in an open primary, and Hyde-Smith defeated Espy in the runoff election by more than seven percentage points.

Justin Brasell, an official with the Hyde-Smith reelection campaign, said she is "ready for any challenge."

"Sen. Hyde Smith is doing a terrific job for Mississippi, she's very popular with Republican primary voters, and she is well organized across the state having just won a competitive special election in 2018," Brasell said. "This race will be a very steep hill to climb for anyone who decides to run."

It appears there is at least one Republican who thinks he can climb that hill — Josh Randle.

Espy enters the race:Mike Espy announces U.S. Senate bid, setting up 2020 rematch with Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith

Who is Josh Randle? 

Randle is a 31-year-old political newcomer with virtually no name recognition. He's an Amory native who went to the University of Mississippi and now lives in Oxford where he works as a consultant.

“Mississippi needs a true Republican Senator,” Randle said.

Randle's formation of an exploratory committee was first reported by Mississippi Today.

His highest-profile gig so far was a brief stint as president of the Miss America Organization, from which he resigned in 2017 after private emails of pageant officials were leaked. In one email sent before his stint as president, Randle had mocked the physical appearance of a Miss America winner, according to CNBC. 

In an interview with the Clarion Ledger, Randle said he hasn't seen any progress made by Hyde-Smith, pointing out she hasn't passed a single bill.

If elected, Randle said he would address the country's national debt crisis by introducing a balanced-budget amendment. He said he would also work hard to end the gridlock in Congress and tackle Social Security.

"Our spending is out of control," he said.

Randle didn't offer many policy specifics and declined to say what — if anything — Hyde-Smith was doing poorly as a senator.

"I don't wanna focus on the negatives," Randle said. "I believe in the positives."

So far, Randle is the only potential challenger to Hyde-Smith.

Waller, Gibert or McDaniel? Nope. 

Retired State Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. surprised many with a strong run in the Republican primary for governor this year. Despite a few rumblings, Waller said he will not be running for U.S. Senate against Hyde-Smith.

Businessman Gerard Gibert, who sold his company earlier this year, also said he's not running for Senate at this time, but is open for a future political run.

"I'm not a candidate, but I am searching for the best role for me to serve my state," he said.

Gibert said it was "highly unlikely" he would enter the race against Hyde-Smith, but refused to rule it out entirely.

As for McDaniel, he said it would be pointless to challenge Hyde-Smith again.

"As long as the GOP establishment is able to utilize Donald Trump's endorsement, it makes little sense to challenge Republican incumbents in a primary. President Trump will endorse the sitting officeholder, and the challenger will lose. Period," McDaniel said in a statement. "... Despite our best efforts to drain the swamp, the swamp is still in control of Congress and most of D.C. This is a pro-incumbent cycle."

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Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the year that Josh Randle resigned from the Miss America Organization. He resigned in 2017.

Contact Giacomo "Jack" Bologna at 601-961-7282 or gbologna@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL.