See who is running to replace Chris McDaniel in Hattiesburg-area District 42 Senate seat

For the first time since 2007, voters in Mississippi Senate District 42 will choose someone other than Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, to represent them.

McDaniel, who is challenging incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, leaves an open race to represent parts of Ellisville, Hattiesburg, Laurel and Petal in Jackson each spring.

The seat last saw a contested race in 2015, when McDaniel defeated Democrat Johnny Henry by more than 70%. He then ran unopposed in 2019. This time around, there are two candidates running, and both are Republicans, meaning that the Aug. 8 primary election will decide who holds the seat.

See who is running for the Mississippi Senate from District 42:

Robin Robinson

Current state Rep. Robin Robinson of Laurel was first elected to represent District 88 in the House in 2020.

According to her website, Robinson is a lifelong Jones County resident who graduated from Jones County Junior College and the University of Southern Mississippi before working at Sanderson Farms. Over her 40-year career at the company she rose to the rank of director, leading the only fortune 1000 company based in the state. Robinson currently chairs the boards of the Jones County Junior College Foundation and the Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi. She is a former president of the Institutions of Higher Learning board.

Robinson does not list her stances on her website, and could not be reached for comment. However, in her two years in the House she has sponsored successful legislation including resolutions honoring individuals for their service, the 2022 teacher pay raises and the 2022 record tax-cuts. Bills she has sponsored that have not become law include one to prevent the state from enforcing or aiding in the enforcement of certain federal gun laws.

Don Hartness

Don Hartness, of Ellisville, does not have a campaign website, but posts prolifically on his Facebook page and his campaign's Facebook group.

Like McDaniel, Hartness was an opponent of changing the state flag in 2020, protesting outside of the capitol with the old flag and telling the Clarion Ledger that he believed it honored those in his family who fought in the Civil War. Hartness has also been known for many 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. He regularly uses the Flag Man moniker in his social media posts.

Hartness paints himself as the true ideological successor to McDaniel, though the current state senator has not issued an endorsement.

"You want Chris McDaniel as the new Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi? Vote for the folks running in this state to support your Conservative agenda. I am one of them who will help bring that to you," Hartness said in a Facebook post, accompanied by a picture of him pointing a handgun into the air, with the old state flag behind him.

"You want to know where I stand on important issues? This picture ought to give you a clue," he also said in the post.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Robin Robinson, Don Hartness face off in Mississippi Senate race