*Editor’s Note: Voting took place on Wednesday, June 6, 2018.
*Update: Baretta Mosley, circuit clerk of Lafayette County said voter turn out for Lafayette has been very low according to the election commission’s office. Story updated at 2:20 p.m.
Mississippi voters go to the polls today to cast their votes in party primaries for a U.S. Senate seat and two U.S. House seats. Polls will remain open to LOU residents until 7 p.m. at each polling precinct.
U.S. Senate:
- U.S. Senator Roger F. Wicker is the Republican incumbent. He faces Richard Warren Boyanton, 68, in the primary.
Wicker: He has represented Mississippi in the United States Senate since December 2007. During his time in the Senate, Wicker has championed pro-growth policies to create jobs and has worked to reduce spending, limit federal overreach, and maintain a strong national defense, according to his website.
Boyanton: Boyanton is a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient from Diamondhead, MS. He supports the state flag, term limits, the 2nd Amendment, and Donald Trump. He is pro-life and believes in a strong immigration policy to “keep the drugs and illegal aliens out,” according to his website.
- The Democratic primary hosts six candidates including state representatives David Baria and Omeria Scott. Howard Sherman, Jeron Garland and Victor G. Maurice, Jr. are also on the ballot.
Baria: David Baria has led the fight to fully fund Mississippi’s public schools, make corporations pay their fair share of taxes, develop a comprehensive infrastructure plan and improve access to healthcare, according to his website.
Scott: Scott is a Laurel native and is affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star, National Council of Negro Women, Federated Women of America, Association for Excellence in Education and Beacon of Hope Mississippi Scholarship Foundation, according to the Mississippi House of Representatives website.
Sherman: Sherman’s priorities are generating more jobs, improving Mississippi schools, supporting small towns and rural communities, advocating for the state’s fair share of funding and continuing to work with Mississippi children “so no child is abandoned by the systems designed to protect them,” according to his website.
Garland: Garland’s priorities are to improve education, healthcare and infrastructure in Mississippi, according to his gofundme page.
Maurice: Maurice, Jr. is a Gulfport native and U.S. Marine veteran. He aims to “compel Mississippi to spearhead the healing of America by fighting for resources and introducing policies that cultivate a 21st century Mississippi that presents a whole America, together,” according to his website.
House of Representative 3rd Congressional District:
- Both parties have primaries in the 3rd Congressional District for U.S. House seats. This position will represent 24 counties covering the central portion of the state.
Six candidates represent the Republican primary including Michael Guest, Whit Hughes, Sally Doty, Perry Parker, Morgan Dunn and Katherine “Bitzi” Tate.
Guest: Guest is the current district attorney for Madison and Rankin counties. “He believes in limited government, traditional Mississippi values, free market economic principles of lower taxes and fewer regulations, protecting the right to life of the unborn, a strong national defense with full support of our men and women in the military, and keeping our 2nd Amendment gun rights and the other individual rights and liberties guaranteed to us by our Constitution,” according to his website.
Hughes: His plan is to “fight for our families, communities, and conservative issues that matter to Mississippians” through addressing issues like better jobs, a more secure border, better education and infrastructure, and the opioid crisis, according to his website.
Doty: Doty is a state senator and Brookhaven native who plans to address the national deficit, jobs and the economy, immigration, healthcare, education, the military, veteran, rural broadband and workforce development, according the her website.
Parker: Parker lives in Seminary, MS and advocates for conservative values, free markets, stronger homeland security, education, government reform and stronger immigration policies, according to his website.
Dunn: Dunn is a strong advocate for rural healthcare and believes the state needs to recruit corporations to support the economy and support millennials to stay in their home state. She believes that starts with a strong education system, according to her website.
Tate: Tate is a Mississippi educator who believes in term limits, free market capitalism, personal freedom for families and individuals to govern their choices and takes an ‘America First’ standpoint on her political outlook, according to her website.
- State Rep. Michael Ted Evans and Michael Aycox vie for the Democratic nomination in the 3rd district.
Evans: Evans is a current state rep. who says he will “stands with those who value Second Amendment rights and the sanctity of human life,” he told the Clarion Ledger.
Aycox: Aycox is a Newton Police Department officer and investigator. He wants to help provide an easier path to higher education, improve the VA oversight, advocate for lower healthcare costs, modernize gun safety and create more jobs, according to his website.
House of Representative 4th Congressional District, Republican Primary:
Fourteen counties in southern Mississippi comprise the state’s 4th Congressional District. Incumbent Steven Palazzo faces Brian Rose for the Republican nomination.
Palazzo: Palazzo is a U.S. Marine veteran seeks nomination to focus on defense and national security, education, energy, flood insurance reform, tax reform and transportation, according to his website.
Rose: Rose is a U.S. combat veteran who seeks nomination to improve healthcare, taxes, the economy and the budget. He is pro-life and believes in upholding the 2nd Amendment, according to his website.
By Anna Grace Usery, editor-in-chief of HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at anna.grace.usery.@hottytoddy.com.
