The Mississippi Free Press sent the following questionnaire to U.S. House candidate Evan Turnage, who is running as a Democratic in the March 10, 2026, Democratic primary election.
We present his responses unedited. Candidate responses do not reflect the views of the Mississippi Free Press or its staff.
Tell us about yourself, your background and past political or professional experience.
I grew up in Cleveland and Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating as valedictorian of Murrah High School, I continued my education at Morehouse College, studying physics and Spanish and finishing as valedictorian at the esteemed HBCU. From there, I went to Yale Law School at a moment when the nation was grappling with systemic inequities in policing and economic opportunity.
I got to work as an antitrust lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis and saw firsthand just how broken competition laws were in this country under the first Trump administration. My conviction to unrig the system eventually took me to Capitol Hill, where I served as senior counsel to Senator Elizabeth Warren and later as chief counsel to then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a role that made me the top lawyer in the U.S. Senate.
Day after day, I worked to hold corporations accountable, expand voting rights, and fight for an economy that worked for everyone. In the Senate, I authored various major pieces of legislation, including the No Kings Act, which eventually led to the No Kings protests around the country, and the Price Gouging Prevention Act, which was adopted as a central pillar of Vice President Harris’s presidential platform.
What does Mississippi need most from Congress? What are our most pressing issues for Congress to solve?
Mississippi needs an aggressive and proactive representative in Congress who can both propose and deliver consistent opportunities, resources, funds, and benefits to the Mississippians who need them. Our state is battling persistent poverty, maternal- and infant-mortality crises, healthcare deserts, brain drain and a lack of sufficient job opportunities, and crumbling infrastructure.
What are your views on immigration and ICE, particularly in light of the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration enforcement actions and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti?
What we’re seeing from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement is not about public safety. It’s about intimidation, escalation, and the unchecked use of force. The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are not isolated tragedies; they are the predictable result of an enforcement regime that treats human lives as collateral damage.
When federal immigration agents are killing people — immigrants and citizens alike — the response cannot be excuses or silence. It requires accountability at the highest levels of government, transparency, and a fundamental rethinking of how immigration enforcement operates in this country.
That’s why I strongly oppose efforts to expand or localize this kind of enforcement here in Mississippi. Proposals like the so-called Mississippi Glacier Act, which would reimburse local law enforcement for partnering with ICE under 287(g) agreements, would erode community trust and make our neighborhoods less safe, not more. Mississippi should not be inviting the fear, chaos, and violence we’ve seen elsewhere into our state.
I believe in comprehensive immigration reform grounded in due process, human dignity, and public safety — not racialized crackdowns or political theater. As a member of Congress, I will vote to impeach Secretary Kristi Noem, fight for real oversight of DHS and ICE, oppose policies that deputize local police as immigration agents, and work towards a legal system that upholds civil rights and treats every person’s life as worth protecting.
What are your views on abortion, IVF, birth control and reproductive care?
Reproductive care is healthcare — full stop. And in Mississippi, the stakes could not be higher. Our state has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, and Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Nearly 80 percent of these deaths are preventable.
That crisis is driven by systemic failures: rural maternity deserts, hospital closures, high rates of uninsurance, and deep-seated disparities in how Black women are treated by the healthcare system. My own mother, when she was pregnant with me, stayed in Jackson near her doctor and hospital instead of in Cleveland with my father because there was not a single OB/GYN in Bolivar County. That was in 1992; thirty-three years later, there are still entire counties in this district without reproductive healthcare. When politicians restrict abortion, attack birth control, or threaten access to IVF, they are making an already deadly situation worse.
I believe decisions about abortion, contraception, and fertility care belong with patients and their doctors. Not politicians. Protecting access to abortion, birth control, and IVF is not just about personal freedom; it’s about saving lives and giving families the ability to plan safely and with dignity.
Mississippi’s rural healthcare system is already abysmal. Forcing people to carry pregnancies without guaranteeing access to prenatal care, emergency services, or postpartum support is reckless and cruel. As a member of Congress, I will fight to protect comprehensive reproductive care, expand healthcare access in rural communities, and address the maternal mortality crisis, especially for Black women who have been failed by the system for far too long.
What are your views on transgender issues and bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care, bathroom use, sports participation and military service?
Every Mississippian deserves to live with dignity, respect, and equal protection under the law. That means supporting gender-affirming care that is evidence-based and guided by medical professionals for those who need it, and opposing harmful, discriminatory bans that single out transgender people.
Policies around bathrooms, sports participation, or military service should be rooted in fairness, not politics. We should be growing opportunities for every child and adult to thrive safely in their communities.
What are your policy views on improving health-care access?
Mississippi’s healthcare system is in crisis — especially in rural communities. We have hospital closures, provider shortages, and some of the worst health outcomes in the nation, from maternal mortality to chronic disease. Improving access isn’t optional; it’s urgent.
That’s why I was proud to see congressional Democrats draw a hard line late last year during the shutdown fight, calling attention to Republican efforts to gut Affordable Care Act subsidies in order to fund more tax breaks for their wealthy friends. To be blunt, those subsidies are the difference between healthcare and death for thousands of Mississippi families.
Healthcare policy is about priorities. I believe Congress should be fighting to lower costs, expand coverage, and strengthen the ACA, not quietly dismantling it to benefit people who already have more than enough. That includes protecting subsidies, expanding Medicaid, investing in rural hospitals and clinics, and using telehealth to reach communities that have been left behind.
After decades of stagnation, Mississippi needs leadership that is willing to show up for these fights and deliver real results. I will fight for a healthcare system that works for working families, not one that treats access to care as expendable.
What are your views on artificial intelligence and AI regulation?
Artificial intelligence is transforming our economy, our jobs, and our democracy, unfortunately not always for the better. Left largely unregulated in the US, AI can entrench corporate power, exacerbate inequality, spread misinformation, and threaten privacy on a massive scale. It is already reshaping classrooms and childhood itself, from how students learn and are assessed to how children are surveilled online, often without clear safeguards or accountability.
Mississippi deserves a representative who understands both the promise and the peril of AI, someone who will fight for smart, proactive oversight accounting for the many ways AI can be utilized. Congress must establish clear rules for transparency, accountability, and worker protections, while investing in education and training so Mississippians can blunt the brain drain and compete in a high-tech economy.
We also need to consider how technology intersects with equity: algorithms and AI systems can reinforce existing disparities, including racial and economic inequities, unless we act intentionally to prevent it. As a majority Black district, MS-02 deserves leadership that anticipates these risks and ensures that innovation benefits everyone, not just the privileged few.
We cannot afford another generation of leaders treating AI like a curiosity instead of the transformative force it already is. We need practical solutions that protect people, ensure fairness, and prevent corporations or bad actors from weaponizing this technology against everyday Americans. That includes confronting the fact that AI data centers are often sited in Black and low-income communities, driving up local energy costs, straining infrastructure, and creating real health and environmental harms for the people who live nearby.
What are your views on climate change and the role the government should play?
Climate change is not a distant threat. It’s hitting Mississippi right now and will get worse if we fail to act. From extreme heat and flooding to challenges for our farmers and fisheries, the impacts are real and disproportionate. In our district, that means Black Mississippians are often on the front lines, living in communities that bear the brunt of pollution, industrial runoff, and environmental neglect.
I believe the government must protect our people by investing in resilient infrastructure, clean energy, and disaster preparedness, while enforcing environmental protections in historically overburdened communities. Environmental justice isn’t optional. It’s a matter of fairness, public health, and economic opportunity.
We also need to tackle energy costs for Mississippi families. Too often, corporations that profit off fossil fuels pass skyrocketing bills onto households while lobbying against clean energy and climate action. Unlike our current representative, I don’t take donations from any of these companies, and I will fight to hold them accountable while promoting policies that lower costs and expand access to affordable, clean energy.
By investing in clean energy, modern infrastructure, and community-centered solutions, we can create jobs, protect the environment, and ensure that all Mississippians — especially the most vulnerable — share in the benefits of a safer, more sustainable future.
What are your views on foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel?
U.S. foreign aid should reflect our values, not just our alliances. A new generation of leadership in Congress has to be willing to ask hard questions about how American power is used and who bears the human cost.
I support aid to Ukraine as it defends itself against an illegal invasion and the erosion of democratic norms.
When it comes to Israel and Palestine, even with a ceasefire in place, the devastation in Gaza remains a human rights catastrophe. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, communities destroyed, and humanitarian needs left unmet. That reality demands accountability.
U.S. military aid should never be unconditional. Congress must ensure American weapons are not used to violate international law or perpetuate collective punishment. This isn’t anti-Israel — it’s pro-human rights.
We also need to confront the role of money in these decisions. Too many longtime politicians, including the incumbent right here in MS-02, take contributions from defense contractors profiting off this crisis. I don’t. Our foreign policy should prioritize human life and lasting peace over endless militarization.
What’s needed now is sustained diplomacy to end the cycle of violence entirely and pursue a just, durable resolution that protects civilians on all sides.
What are your views on President Trump’s military actions in Venezuela?
President Trump’s military actions in Venezuela represent a dangerous escalation that raises serious constitutional, legal, and humanitarian concerns. Decisions about war and the use of force should not be made unilaterally or in the dark.
Any military action must be authorized by Congress, grounded in international law, and focused on protecting civilian lives. What we’ve seen instead is executive overreach that risks further instability and suffering without a clear path to peace.
The United States should be leading with diplomacy, supporting democratic processes, and working with international partners, not repeating a long history of military intervention in Latin America that has too often made things worse.
Mississippians deserve a new generation of leadership that will demand accountability, defend Congress’s constitutional role, and put human rights and diplomacy ahead of reckless militarization.
Are there any other domestic or foreign policy views you’d like to highlight?
At the core of my campaign is a simple conviction: Mississippi’s Second District deserves a fair deal. Not empty promises, not ribbon cutting photo ops, and not the same old politics that has left our communities stuck in place for decades.
We need federal policy that puts real resources directly into our neighborhoods, creates good jobs here at home, and gives families the stability they need to stay, grow, and thrive. That means investing in affordable broadband and rural telehealth, expanding economic opportunity so our young people do not have to leave home to build a life, and tackling our healthcare crises from maternal mortality to healthcare deserts with urgency and scale.
We should be building paid training programs and real pathways to good jobs in infrastructure, healthcare, childcare, and elder care. We should tax in ways that support working families, expand the child tax credit, and ensure Mississippi’s small businesses, not out of state corporations, are the ones benefiting from our growth.
This campaign is about putting forward a proactive, bold plan that meets the moment. After 33 years without transformative change, Mississippi needs a new generation of leadership in Congress that will fight for fairness, accountability, and results that lift people’s lives every single day. That is the Fair Deal I am offering and that is the kind of leadership this district deserves.