Left: Congressman Michael Guest (R), and Right: Michael Chiaradio (D)
- The four-term Republican incumbent ran unopposed in 2024. Now, a political newcomer looks to flip the district blue with the help of a former Bernie Sanders staffer.
Congressman Michael Guest, a Republican, has drawn an opponent in the 2026 midterms after running unopposed in the Central Mississippi district during the 2024 election cycle.
Democrat Michael Chiaradio, a former independent professional baseball league player turned regenerative farmer, has filed to run for Congress in Mississippi’s Third Congressional District. He has lived in Mississippi since early 2023, saying his move to the Magnolia State was the “best decision I’ve ever made.”
In the past few weeks, Chiaradio has been critical of President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard to crackdown on crime, labeled Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin “a symbol of America’s decline,” and called Trump’s tariffs “Republican economic sabotage.”
The Democrat has blamed state Republicans for district maps that “handcuff” voters, saying, “Mississippi may have one of the most gerrymandered political systems in the country.”
“Republicans have hurt our state, shrunk our economy, and left working families behind,” Chiaradio said.
Chiaradio told Magnolia Tribune that Zee Cohen Sanchez, founder of Sole Strategies and a former staffer for Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, has come on board to help build out his Mississippi campaign.
“Zee reached out to me directly, believing that I represent a candidate who could actually win in a ‘red’ district with the right strategy and support,” Chiaradio said.
A Republican has held the Third District seat since 1997, but the district has seen robust GOP primary challenges of incumbents. The last Democrat to hold the seat was Sonny Montgomery, who was in office for 24 years.
Guest has consistently drawn over 60 percent of the vote in the Third District when facing Democratic opposition in a general election.
The Democrat political newcomer, who now resides in Shubuta, spoke at the Oktibbeha County Democratic Party banquet last week, telling those gathered, “Mississippi is not a red state — it’s a low voter turnout state.”
Chiaradio, who was born and raised in New Jersey, is hoping to avoid a contested primary, allowing he and his team to focus on flipping the district “blue” next November.
“If you know someone that’s thinking about primarying me, tell them to primary somebody else,” he told the Oktibbeha County Democrats.
Chiaradio went on to call Guest “mindless,” saying the incumbent “mindlessly follows anything Donald Trump says.”
“It’s an embarrassment. I follow the guy, it’s a shame,” Chiaradio said. “I think he just wants a job in the White House.”
Congressman Guest, who was also born in New Jersey and went on to attend both Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi, served as District Attorney in Madison and Rankin Counties prior winning the Third District seat in 2018.
During his time in Congress, Guest has consistently sought to rise in the Republican ranks. Guest is currently the chairman of the U.S. House Ethics Committee and serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the Homeland Security Committee, where he is a subcommittee chairman.
Guest’s campaign spokesman, Quinton Dickerson, told Magnolia Tribune the congressman is running “on his proven record of conservative accomplishments and always standing up for our Mississippi values in Congress.”
“He has a 100 percent voting record supporting President Trump’s policies of securing our borders, strengthening our military, helping law enforcement and enacting free market economic policies to lower taxes and reduce regulations,” Dickerson added.
Chiaradio touts raising over $4,000 from “grassroots supporters” in the early weeks of his campaign. However, the Democrat has a long way to go to catch up to Guest. The Republican congressman’s latest campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission show Guest has just under $500,000 cash on hand. Chiaradio does not have a campaign finance report filed with the FEC at this time.
The qualifying period for those running for a seat in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate in Mississippi opens December 1 and ends December 26. Party primary elections will be held March 10, 2026, and the General Election is slated for November 3, 2026.
