JACKSON — Doug Magee of Mendenhall turned back a challenge from Dennis Quinn of Magnolia on Tuesday in the Democrat runoff in the 3rd Congressional District.
Magee now faces incumbent Republican Gregg Harper of Pearl, independent Roger Gerrard and Reform Party candidate Barbara Dale Washer on Nov. 4.
With all precincts reporting, Magee led with 52 percent of the vote. Quinn tallied 48 percent.
The district crosses 24 counties from Starkville southwest through the Jackson area and Natchez.
Magee, 72, is a semi-retired lawyer who led the June 3 primary.
He said he’s in favor of renewable energy and expanded infrastructure, and he said current Republicans are in thrall to corporate special interests who are trying to dodge taxes.
Quinn, 65, is a former Magnolia alderman. He’d said he wanted to promote economic development in the district, especially with increasing oil drilling in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale in southwest Mississippi.
Magee reported raising no money through March 31, while Quinn hasn’t filed any campaign finance reports.
Quinn served six years as a Democrat as a Magnolia alderman, losing a party primary in 2009. He’s lost races for the Pike County board of supervisors and mayor of Magnolia multiple times, running at least twice as a Republican.
Magee ran for chancery judge in 2010 and lost. He’s also been involved in local politics in Mendenhall. Magee, too, has a Republican history. He helped Republican Prentiss Walker score a notable upset of longtime Democratic U.S. Rep W. Arthur Winstead in 1964, as Republican Barry Goldwater swept Mississippi while losing the overall presidential election.
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