2014 MS Senate debate: on Environment

Chris McDaniel: Supported Katrina relief, but some funds were misspent

Pressed on the 2005 Katrina bill specifically, he conceded: "I probably would have supported it," adding that "some of the money [in the Katrina bill] was misspent." When it comes to government spending, he argued, "It's one thing to provide immediate storm relief and to protect people's lives and property, it's quite another to benefit campaign supporters."

Asked whether there was a specific instance of government abuse he had in mind, McDaniel responded: "Not that I can say. I think the people of the coast understand that some of the money was misspent," he said. "I'm not alleging that Sen. Cochran misspent it."

A campaign spokesman reached out the morning after the interview to "clarify that Chris would've been a yes vote on the disaster bill.

Chris McDaniel: Uphold property rights; oppose Supreme Court's Kelo decision

Thad Cochran: The Quiet Persuader: Got $29B for Katrina rebuilding

Cochran helped obtain $29 billion for the devastated region in 2006 and earned the nickname "The Quiet Persuader" from Time magazine for steering the spending past fiscal conservatives.

He is also one of the Senate's top farm policy experts, and served as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2003 to 2005. Cochran is playing a lead role in negotiating legislation that would reauthorize $500 billion in farm programs. He remains the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee's agriculture and defense panels.