JACKSON, ma’am. — Mississippians head to the polls with primaries for all four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one seat in the U.S. Senate.
Polls are open Tuesday from 7am to 7pm CDT. If second elections are necessary, they will take place on April 2. The general election is on November 5.
View the candidates competing for the nominations here.
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Rep. Trent Kelly is unopposed for the Republican nomination in northern Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District. He is a former prosecutor and a member of the House of Representatives since winning the 2015 special election. Kelly serves on the House Armed Services Committee.
Dianne Dodson Black and Bronco Williams are running in the Democratic primaries.
Black is a business owner and was the 2022 Democratic candidate in the 1st District. She says she wants to support President Joe Biden’s economic policies, restore abortion rights and limit access to semi-automatic rifles.
Williams, a theater and Spanish teacher, says he wants the U.S. to invest in alternative energy sources, improve transportation and increase access to health care.
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Rep. Bennie Thompson is unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes most of the city of Jackson and rural areas in the Delta and along the Mississippi River. Thompson has been a member of the House of Representatives since he won the 1993 special election. He is the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee.
The three candidates for the Republican primary are Ron Eller, Andrew Scott Smith and Taylor Turcotte.
Eller is a military veteran and physician assistant who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination in the 2nd District in 2022. He says he supports building a U.S.-Mexico border wall and expanding domestic energy production.
Smith has worked in agriculture and commercial real estate. He says he wants to rejuvenate agriculture, rebuild infrastructure, strengthen the southern U.S. border and demand more transparency in government.
Turcotte has worked in advertising and as a regional sales manager for a vacuum cleaner company. She says she is on the run because she wants to secure America’s borders.
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Republican Rep. Michael Guest is unopposed in the primary and general election in central Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District. Guest is a former prosecutor who was first elected to the U.S. House in 2018. He is chairman of the House Ethics Committee and vice chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
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Rep. Mike Ezell faces two challengers in the Republican primary in southern Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District.
Ezell is a former sheriff and was first elected to the House in 2022. He has voted to oust Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and end U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Former President Donald Trump endorsed him this year.
Carl Boyanton and Michael McGill are challenging Ezell in the Republican primaries.
Boyanton owned a produce distribution company. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House 4th District seat in 2020 and 2022. He says he wants to establish term limits, eliminate some federal agencies and limit government spending.
McGill is a military veteran. He says he wants to improve power grids, highways and other infrastructure, increase funding for mental health care and eliminate gender pay gaps.
Craig Elliot Raybon is unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the 4th District.
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Senator Roger Wicker faces two challengers in the Republican primary: Ghannon Burton and Dan Eubanks.
Wicker was appointed to the Senate by then-Gov. in 2017. Haley Barbour after fellow Republican Trent Lott resigned. Wicker is an attorney who served in the Mississippi State Senate before winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in northern Mississippi in 1994. He is the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee and has pushed for expanding shipbuilding for the U.S. military. He is supported by Trump.
Burton is a military veteran. He says he believes the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and he criticizes Wicker for voting to certify the results. Burton says he wants to close the U.S. border, but he believes “globalists want it open.” Burton says he believes COVID-19 vaccines are poison.
Eubanks is a state representative and a Presbyterian minister. He says he believes “J-6ers” — people charged in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol — did not receive a fair trial and are “rotting in jail.” Eubanks says he wants to reduce federal spending and believes Wicker’s record is “anything but conservative.”
Ty Pinkins is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He is a lawyer and ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State of Mississippi in 2023. He says he wants to fight poverty and improve access to health care.