The Mississippi GOP has ruled Mandy Gunasekara an eligible candidate for public service commissioner in the state’s northern district.
Gunasekara, a former EPA official who had a residency challenge filed against her last Thursday, was alleged to have not lived in Mississippi for the required amount of time to seek public office. On Friday, leaders in the Mississippi Republican Party voted in favor of placing her on August’s primary ballot.
“Today, the State Executive Committee of the Mississippi Republican Party confirmed what we already knew: I have been a citizen of Mississippi my entire life,” Gunasekara said in a statement. “I appreciate their willingness to look at the facts and come to a fair decision.”
Gunasekara was being questioned regarding public records that showed she and her husband had received a homestead reduction on property taxes in Washington, D.C. in 2021. According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, candidates for PSC must live in-state for at least five years before the date of the election.
Gunasekara, who has maintained that her primary address has been in Oxford since 2018, last voted in a D.C. election on Nov. 6, 2018. General elections in Mississippi are set for Nov. 7, 2023.
