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On Tuesday, Mississippi voters will go to the polls for Republican and Democratic party primary elections to select the respective parties’ candidates to fill the U.S. Senate seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and voters in parts of the state will choose candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives Third Congressional District seat currently held by Gregg Harper, who is not seeking reelection.

Last week, The Natchez Democrat profiled the eight candidates vying for their party’s nomination for the Third Congressional District U.S. House of Representatives seat.

Today, we profile the candidates vying for their party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate seat.

Polls open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday and voters must choose whether to vote Republican or Democrat and will not be allowed to vote in the other party if a runoff election is held later.

Voters must present a government issued photo ID at the polling place.

The winners of Tuesday’s primaries will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.

Democrats

David Baria

Currently Mississippi’s house representative for District 122, which includes Bay St. Louis, Jackson County native David Baria said he wants to help every Mississippian regardless of race, class or creed.

“Until we are able to help all people in this state rather than just some people, we are going to be in 50th place,” Baria said.

Baria, a trial attorney for nearly 30 years, listed his top three issues that need addressing as healthcare, public education and infrastructure. He also identified reforming the state’s prison system and enforcing government transparency as key goals.

As for why voters should choose him, Baria said the reasons are his willingness to tackle issues that Mississippians find important, his ability to raise enough funds to run a successful campaign and his record of winning in an area where Democrats usually have trouble getting elected.

Finally, Baria said he still carries with him what he learned through trials of enduring loss, when in 2005 Hurricane Katrina destroyed his house and a month later he lost his son.

Later in life, Baria would adopt a biracial son, and he said that combined experience has helped him be more empathetic toward all people.

Jensen Bohren

As one of this primary’s true outsider candidates, Jensen Bohren said he wants people to know one thing if nothing else.

“I’m not backed by corporations,” Bohren said.

A proud Mississippi “Berniecrat,” Bohren said he has not accepted a dime of corporate money and that his truly progressive ideology separates him from the rest of the field.

Bohren listed some of his top goals as reforming the campaign financing system, implementing a Medicare-for-all program and legalizing marijuana. As for that last bullet point, Bohren said Mississippi could benefit in multiple ways, including by growing the plant in the state.

“The Delta is actually perfect for growing it to use for hemp,” Bohren said.

Other issues Bohren supports include private prison reform, heavier regulation of vitamins and supplements and raising the minimum wage.

His left-leaning policies, Bohren said, break the mold of typically moderate Democrats who try to run against Republicans in Mississippi, which he said cuts out a whole base of younger voters.

“Instead of presenting in November a centrist candidate versus a right candidate, we have an opportunity to have a true left-wing candidate versus a right candidate and give voters an actual choice for the first time (in a long time),” Bohren said.

Jerone Garland

Jerone Garland, a 59-year-old Kosciusko native and resident, is a graduate of Kosciusko High School and attended Jackson State University.

He worked as a pharmaceutical and petro chemist in Houston for 25 years before returning to Kosciusko in 2000 to care for his parents.

Garland, a former Baptist minister, currently working as a photographer and school bus driver, said he believes his experience gives him a unique perspective on the needs of Mississippians.

“Working as a community advocate and with children in the schools, I see issues they care about and the daily problems we have in Mississippi,” Garland said. “I hear a lot of rhetoric and ideology but no real solutions.”

Garland said one of his main platform issues is reforming the criminal justice system, and he would like to work to establish alternate sentencing guidelines for non-violent criminals that would mandate curfews and GPS monitoring to allow offenders to work and gain experience while serving their sentences.

Garland also advocates universal healthcare and bringing broadband internet access to rural areas to be utilized for lifelong learning.

“We have gotten away from the constitutional principle of government ‘by the people and for people,’” Garland said. “Now it is for capitalists, businesses and corporations. It is time to return to the principals of the people.”

Victor G. Maurice Jr.

Victor G. Maurice Jr., a 40-year-old Gulfport native and resident, is a former Marine turned author and business entrepreneur focusing on concrete construction and real estate brokerage.

“I believe the government is formed at the consent of the governed,” Maurice said, adding that he is in touch with everyday people and would like to address issues important to them. “I would like to return to the idea of the statesman.”

Maurice said he has a three-plank platform, including Civil Rights and reformation of the welfare and education systems.

“I would propose a combination of welfare and education reform with a focus on adequately addressing the social position of the African American,” Maurice told the Jackson Free Press. “I believe that the shackles of slavery have yet to be removed from the minds of the African American, stereotypically, because it was never the U.S. government’s plan to incorporate the African as an American but rather to assimilate the African as an American in a post slavery monetary system.”

Maurice also said he would support veterans and small businesses.

“Veterans’ concerns are personal to me, and I personally feel the pain of that system,” he said. “And, of course, small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.”

Omeria Scott

Omeria Scott has served in the Mississippi House of Representatives for more than two decades, but now she is setting her sights on the U.S. Senate.

A Democrat from Laurel, Scott’s platform focuses on “good jobs and good legislation” for Mississippi.

“My legislative experience really sets me apart from all of the people that are running,” Scott said in a recent interview with Mississippi Today. “Understanding how monies work is critical for the poorest state in the Union …”

In the House of Representatives, the University of Southern Mississippi graduate served on insurance, Medicaid, public health and human services, tourism and ways and means committees.

“I am asking you to consider a woman who has experience, who is proven, who has a new message, a message that resonates with everybody in Mississippi — so we can get a new result,” Scott said at a recent rally in east Mississippi.  “If you want the same results, you make the same decisions. If you want new results … then I would ask you … to vote for the most qualified candidate in this race, and that is Omeria Scott.”

Howard Sherman

Though he currently lives in Meridian, Howard Sherman spent much of his life in and out of California with his wife, actress Sela Ward.

Now, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Sherman said he has the connections and aptitude to make a real difference in Mississippi.

“These are not just ideas,” Sherman said. “I’m already working on this.”

Sherman, who for approximately two decades has helped found and run Hope Village for Children with his wife, said he knows the complexity of Mississippi’s problems.

“It’s about jobs,” he said. “It’s about healthcare. But it’s like whack-a-mole — it’s not just jobs and healthcare. It’s education and, of course, infrastructure and so many other things.”

Though he has no prior political experience, his MBA from Harvard Business School and his position as CEO of Inventure Holdings LLC — a medical technology company — Sherman said, make him qualified to know how to draw business to Mississippi.

Drawing jobs to Mississippi, Sherman said, will benefit every corner of the state’s economy.

“What’s different about my candidacy is I’m not just going to talk about these things,” Sherman said. “I’m also going to do them.”

Republicans

Richard Boyanton

A Republican, Richard Boyanton, 68, is a Vietnam veteran and small businessman from the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

A resident of Diamondhead, Boyanton and his wife Gracie have been married for 48 years. They have four children.

Boyanton spent four years in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 101st Airborne Division. During his service in Vietnam, he received a Purple Heart and other medals.

A strong advocate for term limits, Boyanton supports the implementation of 12-year terms in Congress. By doing so, Boyanton said he belives most problems in Washington, D.C., would be eliminated.

Boyanton said he also is a strong proponent of reducing federal spending and cutting the deficit.

Recently Boyanton has been critical of his opponent Sen. Roger Wicker for voting to pass recent spending bills in Congress.

“I think six more years of deficit spending with our senator we have now will bankrupt or country,” Boyanton said.

He also is a strong advocate for private business and capitalism. Boyanton said he believes the country is at a crossroads and that Democrats are pushing for socialist change that will lead to failure.

“Our country from the time of its foundation has been thrust forward by small businesses, hard work and individual achievements,” Boyanton said.

Roger Wicker

Sen. Roger Wicker is currently serving as the senior senator from Mississippi. He has been serving in the U.S. Senate as a Republican since he was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott. He later won the 2008 special election for the remainder of the term and was re-elected to a full term in 2012.

Prior to his service in the Senate, Wicker served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives for Mississippi’s First Congressional District.

A native of Pontotoc, Wicker now lives in Tupelo with his wife Gayle. They have three children and four grandchildren.

Wicker said he is proud of what has been accomplished during his time in the Senate, especially the legislation that has been passed during President Trump’s first year in office.

“We have passed major tax cuts, confirmed the most conservative judges in history and rolled back Obama era regulations — but we aren’t done yet,” Wicker said to supporters.

Wicker said he wants to continue to help the president build a wall on the country’s southern border with Mexico, eliminate more regulations that he said threaten American jobs, support pro-life causes and maintain a strong national defense.   

Compiled by The Natchez Democrat staff David Hamilton, Scott Hawkins, Ben Hillyer and Clara Turnage.

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