A small crowd gathered in front of the Starkville City Courthouse Wednesday to listen to the platform of 3rd Congressional District candidate John Rounsaville, a Republican and Mississippi State University alumnus. According to an article in The Clarion-Ledger, other candidates running for the position include Republicans David Landrum of Madison and Gregg Harper of Brandon. Former Sen. Charlie Ross is speculated to enter the race as well.
Rep. Chip Pickering, who has served in the position since 1996, is not seeking re-election for a consecutive term for the seat.
“Chip leaves tremendously large shoes to fill,” Rounsaville said.
Candidates who run for the position should represent Mississippi’s core values: a pro-life stance, lower taxes and commitment to secure borders, he said. Rounsaville said he believes he has much to offer the many areas of Mississippi and MSU, which is included in the 3rd Congressional District.
“I will be a staunch supporter of MSU and will support more federal research dollars to promote economic opportunities for the Golden Triangle [and MSU],” he said.
Senior economics major Neal Wise is leading the MSU campaign to elect Rounsaville. He said students should support Rounsaville because he would be able to genuinely represent them since he has been a part of the MSU community.
“Whoever is elected in this position will be a representative of MSU, and students need to be aware of that,” Wise said.
Stennis Institute of Government director Marty Wiseman said it is very important for the candidate who wins the position to have an interest in MSU.
“It is imperative for someone who has MSU at heart to be sitting at the table when decisions have to be made about funding,” Wiseman said. “Voters need to make up their minds on who that person will be because they will be serving MSU.”
Due to the amount of research dollars that the university relies on, Wiseman said the importance of the position is invaluable.
Wiseman said it is not necessary for MSU to be represented in Congress, but it is beneficial.
“We are the largest university in the state and Tougaloo [College] has more representatives in Congress than we do,” Wiseman said.
If Rounsaville wins the seat, he would be the second congressman from MSU to hold the position since Sonny Montgomery, who served in the position from 1967 to 1996.
“MSU needs and deserves a seat at the table when decisions are being made because we are the state’s largest university and provide a wealth of expertise,” Rounsaville said.
Rounsaville has served alongside with U.S. Rep. Pickering and as deputy chief of staff and legislative director and also as Gov. Barbour’s policy advisor.