Incumbent Fends Off Upstart in Mississippi GOP Primary Runoff

U.S. Congressman Michael Guest (R-MIss.) on NTD Capitol Report, Feb. 7, 2022. (Screenshot NTD Capitol Report)

Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) on June 28 won the GOP primary runoff election for Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District.

With 84 percent of the ballots reported at 9:36 p.m., Guest drew more than 67 percent of the votes, defeating challenger Michael Cassidy.

“I called Mr. Guest earlier to congratulate him on his win. I want to thank everyone who supported my campaign and believed in me and our cause,” Cassidy said.

“And urge all of you to not lose faith in the America 1st cause despite today’s setback. I am confident that the future belongs to us.”

Guest will face Democrat Shuwaski Young in the Nov. 8 general election. Young won the June 7 Democratic primary in Mississippi’s 3rd district.

Cassidy narrowly defeated Guest in the first round of the primary on June 7, earning 47.5 percent of the vote to Guest’s 46.9 percent—a result in line with voter dissatisfaction over incumbents in many other races across the country.

The June 28 result ends a contentious primary season in the district.

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a national super PAC backed by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), injected over $600,000 in outside spending to oppose Cassidy.

One CLF attack ad against Cassidy accused the US Navy veteran and current reservist of pushing an “extreme socialist agenda.”

They drew that conclusion from a Mississippi Today analysis of spending proposals previously on Cassidy’s campaign website.

Cassidy described the ad’s characterization of his views as a “complete lie and misrepresentation” in a June 24 interview with The Epoch Times. He claimed he was merely brainstorming possibilities on his website.

Cassidy has also been labeled a “carpetbagger” by the Guest campaign because he was not born in Mississippi.

In June 27 comments to The Epoch Times, Cassidy said that line of attack was a “slur against service members who move at the behest of the military.”

Cassidy, in turn, has stressed Guest’s previous support for a commission to examine the events of Jan. 6.

Cassidy has also attacked Neshoba County Republican Chair David Carter, a Guest ally, for allegedly encouraging Democrats to vote for Guest over Cassidy in the runoff.

The Epoch Times has identified a Facebook profile for a David Carter who describes himself as Neshoba’s Republican chair.

In a June 20 public post, that user solicited support from Democrats.

“You can vote even if you did not vote on June 7. Even if you are a Democrat, you can still vote for a Republican in the [runoff] and then vote for a Democrat in November. There is only one real Republican in the [runoff],” he stated in that post.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Carter and to Guest’s campaign for comment.

“Mississippi has an open primary system and any eligible voter is free to cast a ballot in a political party’s primary. However, crossover voting is not allowed,” said Kendra James, a spokeswoman with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, in a June 28 email to The Epoch Times.

While Mississippi Code 23-15-575 once outlawed participation in a primary unless the participant “intends to support the nominations made in the primary,” that language was revised in 2017.

The code now bars people from voting in different parties’ primaries on the same date. It also bars them from voting in a given party’s second primary election if they cast a ballot in a different party’s initial primary election.

Like Guest, Cassidy has questioned his opponent’s conservative bona fides.

His website notes that a Christian election guide, iVoterGuide.com, rates him more conservative than Guest. Guest merely “leans conservative,” according to that source.

Heritage Action’s Scorecard, by contrast, rates Guest as more conservative than the typical House Republican, with a particularly high 94 percent rating during this session.

“I can’t speak to that organization,” Cassidy told The Epoch Times on June 24 regarding Heritage Action.

Guest has repeatedly declined interview requests from The Epoch Times.

The runoff attracted national attention, with FiveThirtyEight describing it as one of two June 28 elections in Mississippi worth watching, alongside the contest between incumbent congressman Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) and Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell in Mississippi’s Fourth District.