Congressmen Taylor, Thompson to Face Republican Challengers Mississippi's two Republican congressmen will run unopposed by Democrats this year, but Democratic U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson and Gene Taylor face challenges from the GOP. The qualifying deadline for candidates was Friday. In the 4th District represented by Taylor, a last-day Republican qualifier was state Rep. Mike Lott of Petal. Also running as Republicans are Karl Mertz of Long Beach, who challenged Taylor in 2002; Steven McCaleb of Long Beach and Randy McDonnell of Biloxi. Tracella Lou O'Hara Hill of Hattiesburg is running as a Reform Party candidate in the 4th District. The...
