The United States Supreme Court has denied Mandy Gunasekara’s request to be placed on the ballot for the position of public service commissioner in Mississippi’s northern district.
Gunasekara, formerly an EPA official in the Trump Administration, filed an emergency stay before the U.S. Supreme Court after the Mississippi Supreme Court disqualified her from seeking public office due to her alleged failure to meet a residency requirement.
“The court denied this request and, in fact, rendering this the end of my campaign for this position,” Gunasekara said. “However, like I said previously, this is a bump along the way. This is not the end of the road for me, so stay tuned. I am still going to be very involved and very committed to expanding the reach and prosperity of the conservative movement here in my home state.”
According to records, Gunasekara and her husband received a homestead reduction on property taxes in Washington, D.C. as recently as 2021. The Republican also voted in a D.C. election on Nov. 6, 2018.
For months, Gunasekara has continued to maintain that her primary address has been in Mississippi since 2018, testifying that she and her husband purchased a property in Decatur in August 2018 with renovations lasting from September 2018 until June 2019. She has also claimed to hold deep Mississippi roots and a passion for the Magnolia State.
“At the end of the day, I grew up in Mississippi,” Gunasekara said. “I spent my infancy here, elementary school, middle school, high school. I went to undergrad and I went to law school here. So the majority of my 38-year life has been spent in the state of Mississippi.”
The battle for the seat of northern district public service commissioner is now between state Representative Chris Brown and Tupelo city official Tanner Newman, who are both running as Republicans.
