The field for the Republican nomination for Third District U.S. House of Representatives is a crowded one for the seat that will be vacated in January by Rep. Gregg Harper, who is retiring.
Six Republicans and two Democrats will meet in June 5 primaries for their respective party nominations. Those primaries winners will join a Reform Party candidate in the Nov. 6 general election.
Monday evening at the chancery courthouse, a group of about 75 citizens had a chance to hear from the six GOP candidates at a forum hosted by the Oktibbeha County Republican Party. Among the group were two health care professionals (Whit Hughes of Madison and Morgan Dunn of Magee), a state legislator (Sen. Sally Doty of Brookhaven), a businessman (Perry Parker of Seminary), a district attorney (Michael Guest of Brandon) and an educational consultant (Katherine Tate of Jackson).
With all of the candidates coming from the south central part of the district — which runs from Adams County in southwest Mississippi through the central and east portions of the state as far north as Oktibbeha County — the candidates were mostly strangers to the audience with the possible exception of Hughes, who is remembered by some as a member of Mississippi State’s Final Four men’s basketball team of 1996. The Third District is composed of 17 counties and portions of five others, including a small portion of Winston County.
So for the candidates and the audience, Monday’s forum was a getting-to-know-you affair.
“With everybody being new, there’s no incumbent, and people to have the name recognition that comes with an incumbent,” Oktibbeha County Republican Party Chair Marnita Henderson said before the forum. “We would like people to come out and see who the candidates are and meet them, and make informed decisions about voting.”
The forum followed a question-and-answer format. Each candidate was allowed two minutes for opening statements and a short time at the end for closing statements.
For all of their diverse backgrounds, the candidates’ views were mostly aligned. All pledged fealty to President Donald Trump, whose popularity in the state has remained consistent, and his policies.
“President Trump needs someone that’s going to take a strong voice to get things done,” said Dunn in matching her pitch to the voters in her closing comments. “That’s what District 3 needs, and that’s what President Trump needs.”
With occasional exceptions, the other candidates echoed those sentiments. In response to the questions asked by moderator Keith Herd, a lobbyist and former Chief of Staff for Sen. Thad Cochran, the candidates generally approved the president’s views on topics from the border wall to the recent U.S. airstrike on Syria and the recent tax cut for and privatization of veteran health care.
Only on the subjects of immigration and tariffs were there some difference of opinion.
While all candidates said they support the border wall, the question of how to deal with “illegal aliens” drew the broader range of responses — from Tate, the former art teacher who said flatly, “deport the Dreamers,” to Parker, a self-described moderate who said U.S. policy should create the legal and sustainable guest worker program that American agriculture relies on.
Candidates Hughes and Parker were openly critical of the president’s position on tariffs. After the president announced his intention to levy tariffs on Chinese steel, the Chinese government responded by suggesting tariffs of its own, including a 25 percent tariff on soybeans, Mississippi’s third largest export product behind only forest and poultry products.
“I break with the president a little bit here,” Hughes said. “China is a our second biggest import partner on soybeans. If tariffs and a trade war end up impacting that dynamic, I promise you there are growers in South America who will step in and fill that void.”
Parker said China’s practice of “stealing our technology” demands a U.S. response, but he does not favor Mississippi farmers bearing the weight of that conflict.
“These tariffs can absolutely negatively affect the people of the Third District and the whole state,” Parker said. “Farmers of the Third District should not have to pay for China ripping off our technology. The next Third District congressman should be very vocal with the White House about that.”
Again, only Tate stood squarely behind the President’s China policy.
“President Trump is a master negotiator,” she said. “These trade wars are necessary. They’re going to be good for Mississippi in the long run.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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