MFP Weekly Roundup: March 2, 2026-March 6, 2026
🗣 Catch up on all the latest stories from the Mississippi Free Press.
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U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson has served Mississippi's 2nd congressional district since 1993. Ahead of the March 10 Democratic primary election, he wants to keep going.
“I plan on serving in this seat for as long as I can,” Thompson said on Feb. 18.
www.mississippifreepress.org/rep-thompson...
Many area residents in Southaven, Mississippi, and nearby Memphis, Tennessee, oppose xAI’s growing presence in their backyards, fearing what Elon Musk’s data centers’ operations could mean for their health and the surrounding environment.
www.mississippifreepress.org/xai-faces-fi...
"Mississippi needs an aggressive and proactive representative in Congress who can both propose and deliver consistent opportunities, resources, funds, and benefits to the Mississippians who need them," said Evan Turnage, a Democrat running to represent Mississippi's 2nd congressional district.
D. Ryan Grover is a Democratic candidate running to represent Mississippi’s 4th congressional district in the U.S. House in the March 10 Democratic primary election.
Read our questionnaire to learn about his views.
www.mississippifreepress.org/us-house-can...
"I have always felt a responsibility to give back and make our state better and advocate for policies that solve many of the state's vulnerabilities," writes U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson.
Thompson is the incumbent Democrat representing Mississippi's 2nd congressional district.
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"The Republican Party has failed us, and the Democratic Party has failed us. Mississippians are tired of watching Washington turn every problem into a team sport while our communities are left to deal with the consequences," independent candidate for U.S. Senate from Mississippi Ty Pinkins writes.
OPINION: "Trans and nonbinary people who need to drive with an invalid license risk fines and jail time, where they would be housed according to their sex assigned at birth," Jae A. Puckett, L. Zachary DuBois and Noelle Martin write.
Erik Kiehle is a Libertarian candidate running to represent Mississippi’s 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
Read our questionnaire to learn about his views.
www.mississippifreepress.org/us-house-can...
"Our campaign is built on a cornerstone of this unwavering principle: putting people over politics," said independent candidate Bennie Foster.
Foster is running to represent Mississippi's 2nd congressional district in November's general election. Read our questionnaire to learn about his views.
While Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson sees the SAVE Act in Congress as "a good move," he thinks President Donald Trump's idea to nationalize elections is "a terrible idea."
Mailing abortion drugs to patients would be a crime under a bill the Mississippi Legislature passed to define the practice as felony drug trafficking.
The bill now heads to Gov. Tate Reeves' desk.
www.mississippifreepress.org/bill-crimina...
DEMOCRACY: "These three women sicken me. Other women have disgusted me, too, in the ways they sell out women and people of any color but theirs and prop up bad men and systems meant to hold women back," Donna Ladd writes.
www.mississippifreepress.org/democracy-wo...
“It would be much easier, neater, and everyone would be on the same page. And I think it would get more people—more restaurants—to do it,” said Elvin LeFebvre, manager of Hattiesburg's Triangle Seafood & Po' Boy.
OPINION: "We are not letting fear convince us that we need additional information, further research, and whatever else we tell ourselves. We need to trust God's guidance," Shanina Carmichael writes.
The Mississippi Free Press is hosting a solutions circle in Moss Point on Thursday, March 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For more information, email solutions@mississippifreepress.org or visit mfp.msp/circlesreg.
A teacher pay raise is back in the realm of possibility in the Mississippi Legislature, as the Mississippi House—in a surprise move—revived the effort by amending a bill that was originally about replacing federal ethics requirements with state requirements for school counselors.
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“Washington is broken, and it’s not broken because of one party or the other,” said Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sarah Adlakha. “It’s broken because too many politicians have learned how to profit from the system instead of fixing it.”
She’s challenging incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.
OPINION: "Decades of scholarship dating back to World War I on using air power to force political change has established a consistent finding: Bombing can degrade military capacity and destroy infrastructure, but it does not produce governments more cooperative with the attacker," Farah Jan writes.
“Native American history is American history,” U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs William Kirkland told the Mississippi Free Press. “You cannot celebrate one without the other.”
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The Mississippi Free Press is looking for new Voices writers. Columns should be between 700-1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information. Submit opinion columns to the MFP at voices@mississippifreepress.org.
American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%.
www.mississippifreepress.org/us-lost-a-su...
OPINION: "Study after study had demonstrated that being exposed to increased air pollution leads to more asthma attacks, more cardiovascular disease and people dying sooner than they would have otherwise," Janet McCabe writes.
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The Mississippi Legislature failed to advance a teacher pay raise bill because the House and Senate could not come to an agreement on how much of a raise to provide.
OPINION: "After a long and varied career in the business world, Sharon devoted herself to genealogy, which is what brought our paths together. I met her through the Mississippi State University Libraries’ annual genealogy fair, where she was a familiar speaker," DeeDee Baldwin writes.
Food insecurity is a factor causing residents to be more prone to diabetes, congestive heart failure and obesity. The Taborian Farmacy Food Clinic aims to shore up food concerns by providing a permanent source of fresh food for the small town of Mound Bayou and surrounding areas.
OPINION: "After a long and varied career in the business world, Sharon devoted herself to genealogy, which is what brought our paths together. I met her through the Mississippi State University Libraries’ annual genealogy fair, where she was a familiar speaker," DeeDee Baldwin writes.
