Mississippi voters are heading to the polls today to vote for U.S. House representatives in the state’s four congressional districts. The nationwide congressional midterm elections will determine whether Democrats retain control of Congress or if Republicans take one or both chambers.
Incumbents are running for re-election in three districts, including in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Rep. Trent Kelly faces a challenge from Democrat Dianne Dodson Black; in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson faces a challenge from Republican Brian Flowers; and in Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District where Republican Rep. Michael Guest faces a challenge from Democrat Shuwaski Young.
In Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District, Rep. Steven Palazzo lost a Republican primary after representing voters in the South Mississippi district for over a decade. Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell defeated the incumbent in June and is running against Democrat Johnny DuPree and Libertarian Party nominee Alden Johnson. Neither of Mississippi’s two U.S. senators is up for re-election this year.
Young and Johnson both answered a questionnaire from the Mississippi Free Press where they discussed their views on the issues. Other candidates did not return answers.
Rep. Thompson is the chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on January 6th, which is investigating the 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol following former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. All three Mississippi Republican incumbents, including Guest and Kelly, voted against the investigation, though Guest did support a prior failed attempt at establishing a commission to probe the insurrection.
In June, Thompson’s opponent, Flowers, accused the incumbent of “trying to intimidate American patriots by persecuting hundreds of protestors that are being held as political prisoners since approximately January 6, 2021.”
In addition to U.S. House seats, voters are also casting ballots in school board races and several judicial elections across the state today. Judicial candidates includes Doug Evans, who prosecuted Curtis Flowers, a Black man, six times for murder in Winona, Miss., starting back in 1997.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch dropped murder charges against Flowers in 2020 after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the latest conviction, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh citing the “State’s relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of black individuals.” Evans is running as a candidate for District 5 circuit judge. The prosecutor’s opponent, Charles Latham, has criticized Evans for a “racist approach eliminating Black jurors.”
The polls are open today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can view a list of all voting precincts in the state here and a list of voting precincts that have changed since the 2022 primaries here.
Secretary of State Michael Watson has urged voters to verify their vote registration is active by checking online at this link.
When they arrive at the polls, voters must bring an acceptable form of photo identification, such as a driver’s license, state-issued photo ID, U.S. passport, government employee ID card, student ID from a state university or college, firearms license, tribal ID or a Mississippi Voter Identification Card.
Information on how residents can obtain a free voter identification card from their local circuit clerk’s office is available here. Voters are eligible to cast a ballot if they registered at least 30 days before the primary. More information on voting is available on the Secretary of State’s FAQ section and Voter Information Guide.
For more on elections, go to mfp.ms/voting.
Editor’s Note: The Black Voters Matter Fund provided support for the Mississippi Trusted Election Project’s Phase 2 research.
