Michael Guest (politician)

Last updated

Michael Guest
Michael Guest portrait 116th congress2.jpg
Chair of the House Ethics Committee
Assumed office
January 3, 2023

Michael Patrick Guest (born February 4, 1970) is an American attorney and Republican politician. He has represented Mississippi's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. He became the ranking member of the United States House Committee on Ethics upon the August 2022 death of Jackie Walorski, and became its chair in the 118th Congress after Republicans won a House majority that November.

Contents

Early life and education

Michael Patrick Guest [1] was born on February 4, 1970. [2] He graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting and the University of Mississippi School of Law with a Juris Doctor. He served as the Assistant District Attorney for Madison and Rankin counties from 1994 to 2008, and became District Attorney in 2008. [3] Guest and his family are members of Brandon Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher. [4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Guest and his wife meet with Cindy Hyde-Smith in November 2018 Cindy Hyde-Smith visits with Michael Guest.jpg
Guest and his wife meet with Cindy Hyde-Smith in November 2018

Elections

2018

Guest ran for the United States House of Representatives in Mississippi's 3rd congressional district to succeed Gregg Harper, who chose not to seek reelection. [5] In the six-way June Republican primary election, Guest received the most votes (45%), with Whit Hughes coming in second with 22%. [6] Because no candidate received 50% of the vote, Guest and Hughes faced each other in a primary runoff election, [7] which Guest won. [6] Guest defeated State Representative Michael Evans, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. [8]

Guest campaigned as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump. [6]

2020

Guest was reelected in 2020 with 64.7% of the vote, defeating Democrat Dort Benford. [9]

Tenure

In December 2020, Guest was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania , a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated [10] Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. [11] [12] [13]

On May 19, 2021, Guest was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol. [14]

In June 2022, after a leaked decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to revoke the right to abortion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , Guest wrote to the Department of Homeland Security to demand action in the wake of attacks by Jane's Revenge, which Guest called an "anarchist extremist group" that targets crisis pregnancy centers and other anti-abortion organizations. [15]

In August 2022, Guest was named ranking member of the House Ethics Committee upon the death of former ranking member Jackie Walorski. [16]

Guest was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House. [17]

Guest voted to support Israel following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. [18] [19]

He also proposed the resolution that expelled George Santos from Congress. [20]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress: [21]

Caucus memberships [22]

Electoral history

2018 Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Michael Guest 29,157 44.8
Republican Whit Hughes 14,464 22.2
Republican Perry Parker10,56216.2
Republican Sally Doty 6,60810.2
Republican Morgan Dunn3,8205.9
Republican Katherine Tate4160.6
Total votes65,027 100.0
Republican primary runoff results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Michael Guest 31,121 65.1
Republican Whit Hughes16,69134.9
Total votes47,812 100.0
Mississippi's 3rd congressional district, 2018
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Michael Guest 160,284 62.3
Democratic Michael Evans 94,46136.7
Reform Matthew Holland2,5261.0
Total votes257,271 100.0
Republican hold
2020 Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Michael Guest (incumbent) 67,269 89.8
Republican James Tulp7,61810.2
Total votes74,887 100.0%
Mississippi's 3rd congressional district, 2020
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Michael Guest (incumbent) 221,064 64.7
Democratic Dorothy "Dot" Benford120,78235.3
Total votes341,846 100.0
Republican hold

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References

  1. Statement of Organization, Friends of Michael Guest
  2. Michael Guest - Candidate for House of Representatives MS 3rd District. (Republican)
  3. "Candidate Questionnaire: Michael Guest". Jackson Free Press. May 30, 2018.
  4. "About Michael". April 30, 2018.
  5. "District Attorney Michael Guest running to replace Gregg Harper". Clarion-Ledger. January 5, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Fowler, Sarah (June 27, 2018). "Michael Guest defeats Whit Hughes in GOP House primary runoff". Clarion-Ledger.
  7. "Michael Guest, Whit Hughes head to Republican runoff in MS03 race". Clarion-Ledger. June 6, 2018.
  8. Sarah Fowler, Republican Michael Guest defeats Democrat Michael Evans in #MS03, Clarion Ledger (November 7, 2018).
  9. "Republican Michael Guest wins reelection to U.S. House in Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District". WJTV. November 4, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  10. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News . Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  11. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  12. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  13. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN . Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  14. LeBlanc, Paul (May 19, 2021). "Here are the 35 House Republicans who voted for the January 6 commission". CNN. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  15. Sabes, Adam (June 17, 2022). "Minnesota pregnancy center vandalized by 'Jane's Revenge': 'We should've done more'". Fox News. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  16. Cohen, Zach (August 19, 2022). "Republican Tapped to Serve in Secretive Ethics Role No One Wants". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  17. Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill . Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  18. Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  19. Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. Vielkind, Jimmy; Ferek, Katy Stech (December 1, 2023). "George Santos Expelled From Congress in Tense House Vote". WSJ. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  21. "Michael Guest". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  22. "Committees and Caucuses". Representative Michael Guest. January 3, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  23. "Membership". Republican Study Committee. December 6, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Mississippi's 3rd congressional district

2019–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Chair of the House Ethics Committee
2023–present
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
250th
Succeeded by