A Hickory native who spent three summers working at Structural Steel in Meridian will challenge three-term Democratic incumbent Jim Hood for Mississippi’s attorney general seat.

    Mike Hurst, a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Mississippi, kicked off his campaign as a Republican on Monday morning at the Newton County Courthouse, then attended a campaign rally lunch cookout at his old summer workplace at Structural Steel.

    Hood is running for a fourth term as attorney general and is the only Democrat to hold a state-wide office. Hurst, 39, has never run for public office and is the only Republican to qualify to run for the attorney general’s office as of Friday. Primaries in state and county elections are set for Aug. 4 and the general election is set for Nov. 3.

    Hurst touted his local ties to East Mississippi and his experience as an attorney at the federal level as key qualifications to run against Hood.

    “I grew up in Hickory and I spent three summers here working at Structural Steel,” Hurst said. “I learned a lot from Tommy (Dulaney) and Tony (Dean).”

    Dulaney is president and CEO of Structural Steel, which, on May 23, celebrated 40 years as one of Meridian’s largest employers. Dean is the company’s general manager.

    Dulaney said he knew Hurst would be successful in his professional pursuits.

    “He’s a straight arrow,” Dulaney said. “He worked for us while in high school and when he was attending East Central (Community College).”

    Hurst went on to graduate from Millsaps College in Jackson, then earned his law degree from George Washington University. He started his legal career in 2000, working on Capitol Hill in the House Judiciary Committee.

    In 2003, Hurst went to work for former Mississippi House Representative Chip Pickering as counsel and legislative director, serving three years. In 2006, he won his current assignment as assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District in Jackson.

    Hurst said it’s now time for a change in the attorney general’s office.

    “Jimbo Hood is not a bad man, but I think he’s done a bad job as attorney general,” Hurst said. “I think I can do better.”

    Another motivating factor for Hurst is to help Gov. Phil Bryant’s administration and a Republican-led legislature in pushing back against their perceived overreach of the federal government.

    “We need to push back against the (President Barack) Obama administration when it comes to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), immigration policy and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) regulations,” Hurst said. “We also need an attorney general who will push back against public corruption. I don’t think Mr. Hood has been aggressive enough when it comes to prosecuting corrupt public officials.”

    According to the Associated Press, as a prosecuting attorney for the Southern District, Hurst has handled the public corruption prosecutions of former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps and Brandon businessman Cecil McCrory.