
State Rep. Jeramey Anderson, D-Moss Point, announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.
“In today’s society bipartisanship isn’t an option anymore – it is a requirement if we are to effectively confront the real crises facing not only our state but the nation as well,” Anderson said in a press release. “We’re leading the effort in our state to break through partisan gridlock to re-establish political cooperation and I would like to take that to Washington.”
The youngest active member of the Mississippi Legislature at age 25, Anderson will bid for the Fourth Congressional District, a seat currently held by Rep. Steven Palazzo. Palazzo, a staunch Republican, faces at least one Republican challenger in 2018, Brian Rose of Ocean Springs.
Anderson is the first Democrat to announce intentions to run for the seat.
During his time in the Legislature, Anderson has filed legislation to increase the minimum wage, fully funding the state’s K-12 education formula, wage equality, criminal justice reform and child care subsidies.
Since he took office in 2014, Anderson has filed 35 bills — none of which have become law.
The Moss Point legislator sits on several committees and is co-chairman of the Mississippi Future Caucus, a bipartisan group of legislators under the age of 40. Their goal, Anderson has said, is to “translate points of agreement into policy outcomes.”
Anderson in the statement on Friday said he hopes to “tackle problems like poor schools, economic hardships and government transparency.”