LL-C EXCLUSIVE: Malicious mudslinging in North Miss. senate race | Free News

Smith demands apology, considering lawsuit against Sen. McMahan

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When single mother Lauren Smith started to consider a run for state senator in her northeast Mississippi district that includes Saltillo, Guntown and parts of Tupelo, she knew it would be a battle to win support. What she didn’t expect was having to fend off blatant lies and vicious attacks on her character by the incumbent Chad McMahan.

McMahan, a Guntown native who’s held office since 2016, was caught on a recording by former supporters Natalie and Jamie Gunnells of Tupelo in an incredible rant in which he claimed that Smith was part of the Jan. 6 “uprising,” that she was going to prison, that she had started a movement to bring back the Confederate flag, that she was leading a “hate group,” that she wanted to end all government assistance, that she had been married three times and had multiple affairs, that she owes various landlords back-rent and that she is “evil, malicious and seditious.”

The over-the-top phone call from McMahan was in response to Natalie Gunnells liking and sharing a political post by Smith, who had yet to even officially announce her candidacy. Smith founded the Facebook group “P.R.I.M.E.” (Patriots for Rights Integrity Morals and Ethics), a conservative platform she uses to promote conservative candidates, issues and values. She has been a guest on The Buck Naked Truth podcast.

  Most disturbing to the Gunnellses is that, during the conversation, McMahan tried to intimidate them by telling them that “someone in Washington” had alerted him to Natalie’s post.

“He said twice in a foreboding tone that someone in Washington was watching our post and didn’t like it, and he specifically said we are not in line to help you and your family,” Jamie Gunnells recalled. “When I asked him if we were in danger … he paused and never answered the question.”

The Gunnellses said they decided to record the conversation because, after McMahan had helped them set up a meeting with the state’s Medicaid agency in an effort to get assistance for their adult son who suffers from severe autism, McMahan said, “Well, that ought to be worth a $25,000 campaign donation, don’t you think?” 

In an April 6 story by Anna Wolfe in Mississippi Today, McMahan denied asking for the donation, saying, “No I didn’t say anything like that … that’s a terrible thing to say.” 

The Gunnellses insist it did happen.   

“I recorded the phone call specifically because of the donation ask,” Jamie Gunnells said. “I was not about to speak to him again and not have a record of it. I supported Chad in the last election and gave him $1,000 in a campaign donation. I was fully prepared to support him again until his request for $25,000 in May of 2022, and certainly not after the phone call in January.”

State Rep. Randy Boyd (R-Mantachie) was taken aback by what happened with the Gunnellses.  

“People in our position should do what the people ask them to do without an expectation of being compensated,” Boyd said.

The Gunnellses are not the only former McMahan supporters who are questioning the ethics of their state senator. Booneville businessman Tim Long campaigned for McMahan during each of his first two runs for state senate, but he says he no longer trusts the man.  

“All that garbage he is saying about Lauren Smith is not true,” Long said, adding that he has proof of McMahan’s dishonesty. In a text exchange, Long urged McMahan to push for the state flag initiative to be put on the ballot for the people of Mississippi to vote on, as he was worried that the issue could cost the Republicans a Senate seat. 

McMahan’s response was: “I agree the people must vote on the issue,” Long said, “but then he turns right around and advanced the bill to change the flag without a state referendum. He has no integrity, in my opinion.”

The “garbage” that Long refers to about Smith was left out of the Mississippi Today story, but Smith said, “I know that Chad has been spreading those same terrible rumors to other voters in our district because I’ve talked to many of them about it.”

Smith defended herself on the allegations.

“I was not in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6,” she said. “I was there in November, and I certainly didn’t storm the Capitol. I’m not trying to bring back the Confederate flag. I sponsored Ballot Initiative 74, which would allow the voters of Mississippi to choose between four flags, including the 1894 state flag. I think the people of Mississippi have a right to choose their own flag.

“I guess the ‘hate group’ Chad is referring to is P.R.I.M.E. This is part of the problem with establishment Republicans like Chad — they think that standing up for true conservative values and following the Republican platform makes you part of a ‘hate group.’ This is no different than Democrats labeling Trump supporters as a ‘hate group.’”

Smith said she doesn’t want to get “down in the sleaze” with McMahan, but she does want to make it clear that she has never had an affair, never been fired and never stiffed a landlord on the rent.  

“He has no proof of any of that because it’s all completely untrue,” she said. “It’s all made-up junk, proving that McMahan will do anything — including dragging the reputation of a patriotic single mom raising a young son — through the mud so he can hold on to his power.”

As for Smith, she is demanding a public apology and retraction from McMahan. She is also considering filing a lawsuit against her District 6 opponent for slander.  

“Every day he allows these lies to circulate is just damaging my reputation,” Smith said. “I’m a fighter, and it’s time for me to fight back against a man who is clearly abusing his power and position.”

McMahan was contacted for comment via voicemail, text and email, but he did not respond.

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