text:  On the national level , the city is located in Mississippi 's 3rd congressional district , represented by Gregg Harper ( R ) , who has been in office since 2009 . Lauderdale County , home to Meridian , has voted for the Republican candidate in every United States presidential election since 1972 . Prior to the shift to the Republican Party , white area voters supported Democratic Party candidates , as for decades since the late nineteenth century , it was a one @-@ party state . 
  