A rematch has formed in the race for Mississippi’s District 17 senate seat and barbs are already flying along the campaign trail.
Incumbent Republican Charles A. “Chuck” Younger will once again face Robert A. “Bobby” Patrick Jr., this time in a party primary. Younger defeated Patrick by less than 800 votes in a non-partisan special election runoff last November to complete the late Sen. Terry Brown’s unexpired term. Patrick qualified with the state Republican party on Tuesday.
Patrick, 68, is a retired State Farm insurance agent with a family ties to Lowndes County politics. His father, Robert A. Patrick Sr., served stints as a Lowndes County justice court judge.
In an interview with The Dispatch this week, Patrick claimed Younger used “crossover votes” from Democrats to win last year’s non-partisan special election, something he said Younger won’t be able to capitalize on in this year’s Republican primary. However, Mississippi does not ban Democrats from voting in Republican primaries, and as of Wednesday no Democrat had qualified to run for the District 17 Senate seat.
The qualifying deadline is 5 p.m. Friday.
Last year’s special election only brought about 19 percent of voters to the polls.
Patrick said he plans to set himself apart as the best qualified candidate.
“For years and years, I wanted to run for this office, but we’ve been fortunate to have great representation in the past,” Patrick said. “When Sen. Brown died, I knew it was going to be a short campaign, and I felt like that was God telling me, ‘If you’re going to run, now’s the time to do it.’ …I’ve known the Younger family for a long time, and they’re good folks, so there are no problems there. My qualifications are so much greater with my having a business background and a college education.
“Mr. Younger is a farmer, and farmers are some of the hardest working people,” he added. “But he does not have a business background, and he does not have a college education. I believe I have all the qualifications to get Lowndes County where we need to be and keep us there.”
Younger, 51, also has strong political ties in Lowndes County, with his father, Charles J. Younger, serving as justice court judge and longtime chancery clerk. His sister, Lisa Younger Neese, currently serves as chancery clerk.
A Lowndes County farmer and rancher for more than three decades, Younger dismissed Patrick’s shot at the incumbent’s business experience and education.
“I’ve been farming since I was in high school,” Younger said. “I guess that’s not a business compared to being an insurance agent, but I’m a hard worker and I get along with people. As for my education, Sam Walton (founder of Walmart) didn’t have a degree either, and you can tell Bobby Patrick that.”
Younger said he’s been “learning how to be the best senator” he can be during his first legislative session in Jackson, adding that Patrick “may be wishing for something that he doesn’t know what he’s getting into” by running a second time.
Though Younger said he’s always identified politically as a Republican, he said he associates himself “with everybody” when it comes to representing the district. He said he believes partisan divide, particularly on the state and federal level, has actually harmed the citizens.
Younger said he initially hoped for an unopposed race. Now that he has an opponent, he said he plans to finish the legislative session before diving too deeply into his re-election campaign.
“I’m going to get home and meet with my constituents as best I can on the weekends, but until the session is over I’ve got a job to do,” he said. “I kind of hate it (having an opponent), but that’s just part of the game. I don’t understand Bobby’s thinking. But anyway, that’s life.”
District 17 includes most of Lowndes County and a portion of Monroe County.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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