On Thursday, Congressman Gregg Harper announced he would not seek re-election after serving Mississippi’s 3rd congressional district for nearly ten years. Rankin and Madison County DA Michael Guest has thrown his hat into the ring to fill the open seat.
Related: Congressman Gregg Harper won’t seek reelection in 2018
“I’ve spent the last 22 years in the DA’s office fighting for the people of Mississippi, and I’ve been able to work with incredible men and women of law enforcement, and our elected judicial officers to make Madison and Rankin safe and good places to worship and raise a family,” Guest said. “What I hope to do is be able to do, instead of going in a courtroom every day, is going to represent Mississippi in Washington and fight for the people in the halls of Congress to see that the people of Mississippi’s interests are represented.”
Guest went on to outline the issues led him to make the decision to run for Congress, including the opioid crisis, immigration, infrastructure issues, military spending and more.
Guest has served as the DA in Rankin and Madison counties since 2008 and now hopes to make the jump from the courtroom to Washington D.C, and he says that his experience would serve him well.
“I think there’s a push now for people that we send to Washington not to be career politicians. I think that as a prosecutor you bring a different skill set than someone who is a state legislator,” Guest said. “Trent Kelly, one of our current congressman, was a DA before being elected, and I think he has done a fabulous job representing our state. I hope and I believe that I will look at things from a different perspective than maybe a lifelong legislator would, and I would be able to use the things I’ve learned in the courtroom; that I’ve learned in my position to better serve the people of the third congressional district.”
Guest was the first candidate to qualify and announce his candidacy for the seat, and before announcing his candidacy, he spoke with his wife, his parents and many others including several elected officials. As the election season begins, Guest hopes that he is given the chance to represent the third district.
“I’m hopeful that the people of this district will have faith in the job that I can do and that they’ll allow me to go to Washington, and allow me to make not just Madison and Rankin, but the entire state of Mississippi a better place to live, worship and raise a family,” Guest said.
The Republican primary will be on June 5 with the general election is set for November 6.
