Feeling that he had done enough to address the race issue, Winter refocused his efforts on fleshing out a political platform. He proposed a "Winter Plan for Better Schools" which included decreasing class sizes, boosting teachers' and other school staff members' salaries, and increasing course offerings. He also released 12-point plan for industrial development. His campaign ultimately developed 15 "Winter Plans" for various issues. Winters' opponents kept their focus on race and denounced him as a "liberal". Some black leaders quietly backed him, mindful that a vocal show of support would tarnish his image among white Mississippians. Winter tried to counter segregationists' doubts about him by tying himself to Senators James Eastland and John Stennis—both clear segregationists—and by stressing law and order—a position which placed him in contrast to disorderly civil rights protests and riots elsewhere in the country. He generally refrained from directly attacking the other candidates.
