Not All Candidates Live In MS District 34 As Required By Law

This would disqualify half of the candidates or at the very least, the candidates in questions would not be certified.

HATTIESBURG, Miss (THN News) - As Hattiesburg News continues to cover the special election of MS District 34, it appears not all 6 candidates running to replace retired Senator Juan Barnett actually live in MS Senate District 34.

As we take a deeper look, we received multiple documents from an independent organization that shows at least half of the candidates live in another district. Hattiesburg News has not independently verified the data we've received.

However, it provides a strong case that according to the maps that are supposedly used for this special election, some candidates addresses are outside of District 34. Because we have not spoken with the candidates, we will not disclose who those candidates are.

If this stands as true, this would disqualify half of the candidates or at the very least, the candidates in questions would not be certified to run in the special election on Tuesday, December 22, 2026 by the Mississippi State Board of Election Commissioners.

However, a source with the Mississippi Secretary of State's office who spoke extensively with Hattiesburg News on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorize to speak on the matter stated candidates "do not have to live in District 34 for 2 or 3 years to establish residency prior to this special election as they normally would be required to with other elections" in part as the source explained because the lines in the district may have changed.

According to our research, this source is correct and validated by the Mississippi Attorney General Opinion 1991 WL 577553 which states in part,

"It is the opinion of this office that a candidate whose residency is continuous and uninterrupted may apply his previous period of residency in his former district to the period his has resided in the newly created district to satisfy the residency requirements for holding office from such district."

Hattiesburg News continues to follow this story as it unfolds and will bring the latest developments. We will also continue to cover this special election.

Did you enjoy this story? Share with at least 5 people. Don't just enjoy reading the news by yourself, share it with family, friends, classmates and co-workers by posting to your social media or by copying this story's link and sending it to others.

Want to see more Hattiesburg News Now? Tap Here. Questions about this story or more about Hattiesburg News?  Tap Here.

This news story was covered by Hattiesburg News Staff. Thank you for visiting the Award Winning Hattiesburg News.