The Mississippi Public Education PAC has endorsed Lamar County native Kent McCarty in the April 2 runoff for HD 101 special election

TUPELO, Miss. – The Mississippi Public Education PAC (MSPEPAC), a nonpartisan political action committee that champions public education, has endorsed Kent McCarty in the District 101 House of Representatives special election runoff to replace Representative Brad Touchstone, who was elected Lamar County Court Judge.

MSPEPAC was founded in 2016 by a group of passionate public school parents from around the state who advocate for high-quality public schools. The PAC’s mission is to help elect pro-public-education candidates to the Mississippi Legislature in order to strengthen, support and protect existing public schools in the state.

 After an interview process and upon careful consideration, the MSPEPAC has chosen to endorse McCarty because of his strong commitment to support public education and his belief that Mississippi’s public schools should be adequately and equitably funded.

“The Mississippi Public Education PAC is proud to support Kent McCarty because he is committed to fully funding our public schools,” said Julia Weaver, a founding MSPEPAC board member. “Mr. McCarty also believes we should focus on equipping public schools with the resources they need to serve students with disabilities.”

A lifelong resident of Lamar County, McCarty is a product of the Lamar Public School District. At the age of 19, he opened the first location of Java Moe’s Coffee Company in Oak Grove. McCarty went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi as a Presidential Scholar, receiving a finance degree while continuing to grow and expand Java Moe’s. The business now employs more than 50 people and will soon see its fifth location open under McCarty’s leadership and direction. He has served on the board of the Pinebelt Foundation for four years as a member of the Development Committee, where he has taken part in community outreach and fundraising.

“In order to make meaningful, long-term progress in Mississippi, we must invest in our teachers, our schools, and our young people,” said McCarty. “We can’t afford to have education on the back burner; it must be our number one priority.”

The runoff will take place Tuesday, April 2. House District 101 encompasses Lamar County.

The Mississippi Public Education Political Action Committee was created as a grassroots effort to give parents a voice in the political process by promoting candidates, measures and policies that strengthen, support and protect public education in Mississippi. Made up of a group of public school parents from around the state, the nonpartisan PAC recommends and supports candidates who are passionate about and friendly toward public education. The organization supports quality public education for all children in existing public schools, including our most gifted and most vulnerable, and seeks to promote adequate and equitable funding for Mississippi’s public schools. For more information or to donate online, visit www.MSPublicEducationPAC.org.