MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi Republican congressional candidates continue to advocate conservative positions leading into the June 5 primary.
Six candidates for the 3rd District seat spoke at a forum Wednesday night in Meridian, the Meridian Star reported.
State Sen. Sally Doty of Brookhaven said having compassion for children brought into the U.S. illegally could create “more voters for the Democratic Party.”
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“I do think we need to be sensitive to agriculture workers here who really depend on immigrant labor, and I feel it should be legal immigrant labor,” Doty said.
All six candidates agreed gun violence is a scourge. They said they support the Second Amendment and want more training for law enforcement and “local security teams.”
“Our mental health is the issue, and it’s not guns,” said health care executive Morgan Dunn of Magee.
Businessman Whit Hughes of Madison said Washington fails to represent the middle class. “At the end of the day, nothing’s getting done. we need to change that,” Hughes said.
Businessman Perry Parker of Seminary said Mississippi needs jobs. “I think we need to use this office to promote private investment,” Parker said.
District Attorney Michael Guest of Brandon said he would push the interests of local residents over those of President Donald Trump, if forced to choose. Guest said: “I believe that it is vitally important that you put first, ’How does that legislation affect the 3rd Congressional District?’”
Educator Katherine Tate praised the president: “I’m very proud of Trump and his stand to implement fair trade with those nations that have been taking advantage of us.”
The 3rd District cuts diagonally across 24 counties in central Mississippi, from Natchez in the southwest to Starkville in the northeast. The seat is open this year because Republican Gregg Harper chose not to seek re-election after a decade in Washington. The Wednesday event was sponsored, in part, by the local Republican party, and the two Democratic candidates - Navy veteran Michael Aycox of Newton and state Rep. Michael Ted Evans of Preston - were not invited.
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Information from: The Meridian Star, http://www.meridianstar.com
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