MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
For more, I'm joined by Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson. He's represented the state's second district for more than 30 years. Good morning, Congressman. Thanks so much for joining us.
BENNIE THOMPSON: Good morning. How are you?
MARTIN: Good. Well, better now that I'm speaking to you. You came of age during the Civil Rights Movement, during the fight for voting rights in Mississippi. Now, be honest, what went through your mind when Scott Colom announced his run for the Senate? Did you think he could do it?
THOMPSON: Well, you know, I've been one of those people here in Mississippi who just felt that not only as a son of the South, Black people, in general, deserve better. My daddy, for instance, never was allowed to register and vote. And his son now serves as the highest-ranking elected official in the state until Scott Colom was elected senator here in the state. So I'm excited about that. I'm excited that it is happening, and you never give up. But to be honest with you, we knew that it would be a real tough slog to win, but Scott wanted to do it for all the right reasons. And so the rest is history.
MARTIN: It is history just made. So let's talk politics and then let's talk policy. First, the politics of it. Does this signal then that Democrats can be competitive across the country? 'Cause I do understand, and I think you have expressed some frustration that you think Democrats have not nationally, at least sort of the national political structure, been willing to invest in states in places that they have not considered winnable in recent years. Do you think that this signals a time that Democrats are now competitive nationwide and can be competitive nationwide?
THOMPSON: Well, I think Scott Colom's campaign proves that with proper investment, you can win. Our national infrastructure has yet to get that for candidates of color. Now I want to be clear. There are other candidates in the race this term for Senate and what have you, that had millions of dollars in their campaign coffers. Scott Colom was not one of them. What we had - candidates who were committed to making a difference in this state, come hell or high water - they put together whatever kind of event that was required. We put fish fries. We put spaghetti dinners. We had fundraisers in individuals' home. We had fundraisers at tailgates at football games, you name it. We did it. But we had a lot of volunteers. So we substituted what other campaigns - when they had money, we had people.
MARTIN: So before I let you go, as to policy, what do you want to see Senator-elect Colom emphasize going forward? I guess what I'm asking is, like, what do you think the top priorities should be for him as he undertakes this position?
THOMPSON: Well, let me tell you, it's very easy. We - a majority of our counties are medically underserved, so we need a senator who absolutely supports healthcare, whether it's for children, for seniors, access to healthcare is a key. We have educational systems that are woefully underfunded. So we need an education senator. We need someone who can help create economic development opportunities so that our children, when they get ready for the world of work, they'll have choices.
We are still exporting our most talented individuals to the benefit of other states because there's nothing here to do. For every dollar that we send to Washington, we get almost $3 back. So we're a needy state. We can't afford to have a senator that votes to cut Medicare, Medicaid, won't support Head Start, won't support the SNAP program, free and reduced meals for children, senior citizens programs. We just need a senator that votes to interests of a state like Mississippi. And in Scott Colom, we have that individual.
MARTIN: That is Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. Congressman, thank you so much for speaking with us.
THOMPSON: Thank you so much for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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