Election 2023: What are the issues in the Senate District 42 race?

Mississippi residents in Senate District 42 will have a new leader representing them at the capitol in January, bringing Sen. Chris McDaniel's 16-year tenure to a close.

McDaniel is running for lieutenant governor and will face incumbent Delbert Hosemann and Tiffany Longino in Tuesday's Republican primary. The winner will be on November's general election ballot with Democrat D. Ryan Grover.

Two Republican candidates have emerged in the District 42 race, including District 88 Rep. Robin Robinson and Ellisville resident Don Hartness. Since there are no other candidates, the winner of the primary will fill the Senate seat.

The district represents parts or Forrest and Jones counties.

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Robinson was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election in 2020. The district encompasses parts of Jones and Jasper counties.

She follows in the political footsteps of her mother Mary Joyce Robinson, who was elected to serve as a justice court judge. And Robinson's husband is former Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton.

"Seeing Mother being able to serve people and seeing Sam and what a difference he made in the Public Service Commission, running for office was something I always wanted to do," Robinson said.

If elected to the Senate, she said she will continue to fight for her constituents and statewide interests. Her priorities include job creation, economic growth and education, she said. Robinson also will fight for measures that support law enforcement.

As a state representative, Robinson said she brings conservative Christian family values to the table. She supported legislation for the recent teacher pay raises, which was signed into law, and abolishing the state income tax, which did not pass.

Robinson hopes to work with other legislators to hammer out another income tax bill that has the potential to become law in the next session.

"That's going to be a $545 million tax relief for families, the people that need that money," Robinson said. "I guess my ultimate goal is to make our area and Mississippi a great place to live. And to be able to worship, to work and to raise a family — that's what most of us are interested in."

Before her legislative career, Robinson had a 40-year career at Sanderson Farms, working her way up the ranks to include a number of leadership roles. In 2004, Robinson was appointed by former Gov. Haley Barbour to the Board of Trustees for the Institutes of Higher Learning. She also was appointed to the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Services.

Robinson graduated from Jones College before earning a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi.

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Attempts to reach Hartness for an interview were unsuccessful.

Hartness does not have a campaign website, but he and his wife Jerrie Lynn Hartness post about the campaign in a Facebook group supporting Hartness' candidacy.

Like Robinson, Hartness is a conservative Christian family man and Army veteran who supports issues like term limits, fiscal responsibility and educational freedom.

"Don has always fought for conservative values and will continue that fight in the Mississippi Senate," Jerrie Lynn Hartness wrote on Facebook. "There is no better to serve Senate District 42 than Don Hartness. Don believes in defending our conservative values, our constitution, our Second Amendment and the rights of the unborn."

Like McDaniel, Hartness opposed changing the state flag.

The Clarion Ledger reported in 2020 that Hartness protested outside the capitol with the now-retired flag. He told the Clarion Ledger he believed the former flag honored those in his family who fought in the Civil War.

Hartness has been known for years as "The Flag Man" for standing on busy street corners with the American Flag during patriotic holidays like the Fourth of July and Memorial Day.

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Other legislative races in Forrest, Lamar counties:

Only one other Senate race in Forrest and Lamar counties is contested this year.

District 41 Sen. Joey Fillingane, who has had a long career in the House and Senate, will face opponent Robert Cole in the Republican primary. Since there are no other candidates for that race, the winner will be decided in the primary.

In District 34, Democratic incumbent Juan Barnett is running unopposed, as are Republican incumbents John Polk in District 44 and Chris Johnson in District 45.

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In the House of Representatives, incumbent candidates in Districts 101, 102 and 106 are running unopposed. Republicans Kent McCarty, Missy McGee and Jansen Owen will resume their respective seats in 2024 for another four-year term.

Democrat Percy Watson of District 103 also is running unopposed.

In District 87, Republicans Rep. Joseph "Bubba" Tubb and Kim Taylor Fagan will vie for votes on Tuesday.

District 99 Republican Rep. Bill Pigott will face Green Party candidate Gregory "Todd" Fortenberry in the November general election.

In District 100 Rep. Ken Morgan will face fellow Republican Jacob Brogan in Tuesday's primary.

District 104 has a three-way race in the Republican primary with incumbent Larry Byrd facing off against Blake Nobles and Melissa Brady.

Clarion Ledger reporter Wicker Perlis contributed to this report.

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Candidates for MS Sen. Chris McDaniel's seat bring conservative values