See who will be on ballots for Congress in 2nd and 3rd districts in Mississippi Primary

When voters go to the polls March 12 to vote for Mississippi congressional primary candidates in districts 2 and 3, their options will be limited.

District 2 incumbent Bennie Thompson, D-Bolton, faces no challengers within his party, and District 3 incumbent Michael Guest, R-Rankin County, is now running unopposed.

In District 2, Thompson will eventually face off against one of three candidates vying for the Republican nomination in next week's primary. Those challengers are Taylor Turcotte, Andrew Scott Smith and Ron Eller.

As of Feb. 21, Thompson has raised more than $513,000 in contributions and spent about $545,000, leaving his campaign account with $1,698,954 in cash-on-hand, which accounts for the total amount of money in Thompson's Federal Elections Commission account.

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Eller has raised $1,355 so far in contributions and spent $2,129 on his campaign. He currently has $45 in cash-on-hand in his FEC account.

Eller and Thompson did not immediately respond to several requests for comment about their campaigns or why they are running.

Who is running against Thompson?

Turcotte, Smith and Eller will face off in the Republican Primary next Tuesday, and whoever wins will run against Bennie Thompson in the Nov. 5 general election.

Andrew Scott Smith

Smith, who works as an insurance broker in Jackson, told the Clarion Ledger that he is running on a few key issues, such as border security, economic development for towns in Thompson's district and on finding what he hopes would be a more permanent solution to the state's medical care system than Medicaid expansion.

Earlier this month, the Mississippi House passed a Medicaid bill that would federally expand the program to more than 210,000 working Mississippians.

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"Medicaid is a Band-Aid solution for Mississippi," Smith said.

Smith said that making sure the border along the nation's southern states is paramount to his platform and to what would be his constituents if elected.

"These just aren't state issues here, it's an American issue," Smith said.

Smith's campaign financing was not yet made available on FEC's website as Tuesday afternoon.

Taylor Turcotte

Turcotte, who works as in advertising in Jackson, said she doesn't have any particular policy or subject she wants to focus on during her campaign or even if she is elected. Instead, she said, she plans to communicate with voters as often as possible and work to provide more job opportunities in District 2.

Turcotte disclosed that she has not raised any money for her campaign, and the FEC shows no contributions or expenses for her campaign as of Feb. 21.

"Instead of a politician who talks to people all the time, I want the voters to tell me their opinions and how they feel about issues," Turcotte said.

Turcotte also said that if elected, she would spend almost all of her time in Mississippi and not focus on the "politics" of Washington, D.C..

"I'm not looking to go out and write a whole bunch of new laws and get in way over my head," Turcotte said. "I'm starting at the ground level because, if you think about District 2, they don't need another politician. They need somebody to come in and figure out what their problems are and how we solve them."

Ron Eller

Eller, who was not available for an interview by time of publication, has publicly stated he wants to reform the state's education system and provide more schooling opportunities for prisoners in Mississippi.

Eller is also focusing on issues such as border security.

"Our National Borders must be secured," Eller said in a statement on his campaign website. "Build the wall now. Failure of our elected officials to secure the border should be considered dereliction of duty and grounds for removal from office. Any state, and/or local government that declares itself a sanctuary should be ineligible to receive any federal funding and aid. Anyone who illegally immigrates to the United States should never be permitted to vote in a federal election even if they are later awarded citizenship."

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District 3 race

In District 3, Incumbent Republican Michael Guest had only one competitor in the election this year, Democrat Jarvis Gordan.

However, a Mississippi Democratic Party spokesperson told the Clarion Ledger Gordan dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at [email protected] or 972-571-2335.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Bennie Thompson, Michael Guest face no challengers in MS primary