Vicksburg attorney Tom Setser filed qualifying papers Friday afternoon and joins the race for the District 54 House of Representatives seat being vacated by two-term incumbent Rep. Chester Masterson.

Setser filed as a Republican as did previous candidate businessman Alex Monsour. They will be on Republican primary ballots Aug. 7.

The seat includes the southern half of Warren County.

Masterson, 73, also a Republican, had filed for a third term, but refiled to seek the District 23 Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Chaney. Vicksburg attorney W. Briggs Hopson has filed as a Democrat in that race.

Setser, 34, who is running for public office for the first time, said, if elected, his goal will be to improve education in Mississippi.

&#8220I also want to ensure continued economic development in the community,” he said. &#8220As a legislator, I would work closely with the local government.”

After completing law school, Setser spent four years in the U.S. Navy as a JAG officer. He has owned his private law practice for three years. He is on the board of directors for the Vicksburg Chapter of the American Red Cross and is a member of St. Michael Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus.

No Democrats have filed in the District 54 race.

A second House seat including the balance of Vicksburg and Warren County, District 55, has been held by the area’s senior delegate to the Legislature, Rep. George Flaggs Jr., for 16 years.

Flaggs, a Democrat, has drawn no opposition to his bid for a fifth, four-year term.

The deadline for all candidates to file is March 1.

Primary winners will advance to the general election Nov. 6.