Republican · Mississippi's 3rd District · 2026
Michael Guest
Guest studied accounting before turning to law, then spent 11 years as district attorney for Madison and Rankin counties.
Biography
Michael Guest and his wife, Haley, have two sons and belong to Brandon Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.1 He is a longtime resident of Rankin County and a graduate of Brandon High School.1
Guest earned an accounting degree from Mississippi State University and a law degree from the University of Mississippi.1 Before his election to Congress, he spent 11 years as district attorney for Madison and Rankin counties.1 He also belongs to the Mississippi Bar and Rankin County Bar associations.1
First elected to Congress in 2018, Guest now chairs the House Ethics Committee.12 The committee has equal Republican and Democratic membership.2 He also serves on the Appropriations and Homeland Security committees.3 His legislative work includes the Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act of 2019, signed into law that October.14 It requires a Homeland Security exercise testing detection and prevention of terrorist travel, with coordination across federal agencies, other governments and community stakeholders.4
Guest's agenda emphasizes border security, lower taxes, less regulation, agriculture and support for police and the military.1 He also supports gun rights and restrictions on abortion, describing those positions as part of his conservative approach to public office.1 He faces Democrat Michael Chiaradio and Libertarian Erik Kiehle.5
Record and controversies
Late stock transaction disclosures
An August 2026 NOTUS review documented that Guest reported three December 2025 stock sales more than six months late.6 His August 14 filing identifies the transactions as sales by a family trust benefiting his wife and children.7 In that filing, Guest attributed the omission to a compliance firm, said he neither controlled nor was consulted on the trades, and reported notifying Ethics staff and initiating additional compliance review.7 NOTUS also reported an earlier 2021 trust transaction disclosure that was more than eight months late.6 His office said he intended to pay any late filing fine; the article did not identify an assessed penalty.6
Sheriff inquiry and recusal
A 2023 Mississippi Today and New York Times investigation reported that Guest compiled a 2016 report describing a sheriff's alleged misuse of grand jury subpoenas.8 Guest recused because of personal conflicts and passed the matter to the attorney general.8 The reporters said he did not notify the officer certification board on which he served.8 Guest declined comment for the story; then Attorney General Jim Hood defended the decision not to prosecute the sheriff.8