Left: Shuwaski Young. Right: Michael Guest.
Young’s positions on the two issues won’t likely resonate with Mississippi voters but could help him gain out-of-state donors.
Third Congressional District Democratic candidate Shuwaski Young has stepped into the fray on abortion and gun control, expressing his support for both in recent days.
Young’s engagement on these issues and his promotion of them on social media is likely an effort from the campaign to capitalize on the two national hot topics in the news following the leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Mississippi’s Dobbs case and the recent school shooting in Texas. His campaign is likely seeking to gain traction with donors, largely outside of Mississippi, while separating himself from the current Republican incumbent Congressman Michael Guest in state.
Given the direct references to the incumbent, it is obvious that the Democrat assumes Guest will win the GOP nomination on June 7th in the three-man Primary and meet him in the General Election in November. Young is unopposed in the Democratic Primary.
Young appeared on SuperTalk’s Paul Gallo Show last week, following which he shared the clip below saying that he “made it unequivocally clear that abortion decisions should be made privately between a woman and her doctor. Period.”
“As your next Congressmen from #MS03, I’ll always fight the hardest for women, the poor and our children,” Young added.
I stopped by @supertalk to join the @paulgalloshow and made it unequivocally clear that abortion decisions should be made privately between a woman and her doctor. Period.
As your next Congressmen from #MS03, I’ll always fight the hardest for women, the poor and our children. pic.twitter.com/i1kQKMSybC
— Shuwaski Young for Mississippi (@shuwaskiyoung) May 26, 2022
The Democratic candidate then took to social media in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting to attack Congressman Guest’s A+ NRA rating, saying he was appalled by Guest’s silence on that tragedy and others like it.
“Mississippi has the highest rate of gun deaths in the nation,” Young tweeted, adding, “Yet, Rep. Michael Guest is proud of his A+ rating with the NRA. But, notice he’s still silent on Texas, California, & Buffalo.”
Young went on to state that because of the NRA many Republicans have decided to do nothing while “society suffers.” He tweeted that electing more Democrats would bring change.
“It’ll take more Democrats being elected to office to bring common sense gun laws to our country for change to happen,” Young wrote.
We’re now facing another mass shooting – this time in Chattanooga.
It’ll take more Democrats being elected to office to bring common sense gun laws to our country for change to happen. Because of the NRA, many Republicans have decided to do nothing while society suffers. #MS03 pic.twitter.com/zKz6XPIYDN
— Shuwaski Young for Mississippi (@shuwaskiyoung) May 29, 2022
Young’s position on abortion and gun control stands in stark contrast with a majority of voters not only in the 3rd Congressional District, but in Mississippi as a whole. His campaign’s decision to seek to make hay on both issues is suspect given that Republicans hold a significant advantage in the 3rd District. Every credible election tracker lists the district as Solid Republican.
The incumbent Congressman Guest cruised to re-election in 2020, beating his Democratic opponent Dorothy Benford 65% to 35%.
In fact, no Democrat has gained more than 37.5% in the 3rd Congressional District since Sonny Montgomery in 1994. Montgomery retired from Congress two years later and Republicans have held the seat ever since.
Congressman Guest faces Michael Cassidy and Thomas Griffin in the Republican Primary next Tuesday. The winner will face Young in November.
Democratic candidate Young is a former Obama and Clinton campaign staffer who has also worked as a Democratic Party organizer in California. He spent time working in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office before a stint with the Department of Homeland Security.
Frank Corder
