and losing a possibly winnable race in 2018.
This state is racist as hell and the Democrats are the black party. No Dem was going to win.
Jim Hood would almost certainly beaten Cindy Hyde-Smith in 2018 in a head-to-head race (assuming his entry into the race didn't cause other stronger Republican candidates to jump in and get to the top 2 in her spot).
And Mississippi isn't any more racist than Louisiana (Democratic governor) or Alabama (Democratic senator), nor is any more Republican than either of those states. It's all about matching a strong Democratic candidate against a weak Republican candidate. The MSGOP did its part in 2018 (just like the ALGOP in 2017 and LAGOP in 2015), but the Democrats weren't able to do the same.