President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured their respective party’s nominations during Tuesday’s primaries in Mississippi, Georgia, Washington, Hawaii and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Mississippi primary also renominated four U.S. House and one U.S. Senate incumbent. Three of the state’s U.S. House incumbents and the U.S. Senate incumbent, Republican Sen. Roger Wickers, will face opponents from the opposite party in the November 2024 general election.
The Republican U.S. House Rep. Michael Guest, a Republican who represents Mississippi’s 3rd congressional district, will be the only member of the state’s congressional delegation with no opponent in November.
Below is a list of nominees for each Mississippi House and Senate position that voters can expect to see on their ballots late this year.
Why this office is important: The U.S. Senate is one of the two bodies in Congress with the power to pass federal laws. It has the sole responsibility to conduct impeachment trials of high-ranking federal officials. It gives advice and consent on treaties and can help confirm or deny certain appointments like ambassadors, federal agency leaders and federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court justices.
U.S. Senate
Attorney Ty Pinkins will challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker after running unopposed in Tuesday’s primaries. Wicker defeated Republican primary opponents Ghannon Burton and Dan Eubanks in Tuesday’s primaries.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, Republican (Incumbent)
Background: U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker is a Pontotoc, Miss., native and a University of Mississippi graduate. He served in the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was a Mississippi state senator for seven years and served as a U.S. House representative for Mississippi’s first congressional district for 12 years. He began his first term as a U.S. senator when then-Gov. Haley Barbour appointed him in 2007.
Wicker recently voted in favor of a $95 billion aid package that would have given $60 billion to help Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion, $14 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid and about $5 billion for Taiwan and Indo-Pacific partners.
After voting for all of former President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominees, the senator disapproved of President Joe Biden’s choice to nominate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court and voted against confirming her to the nation’s highest court. He said he feared Jackson would “restrict religious freedom when it comes to same-sex marriage.” In 2022, Wicker voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which federally protects same-sex marriage rights.
Wicker voted against convicting former President Trump during both impeachment trials, including for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, and blocked a bill that would create an independent commission to investigate the attack. He has since endorsed Trump for reelection and accepted an endorsement from the former Republican president.
“It is clear that the events of January 6 have been and will continue to be investigated by Congress and our law enforcement agencies,” he said in a statement. “It is my view that adding a new commission to this mix would inevitably delay and distract from the productive investigations already underway.”
Policy Views:
- Wants to create more jobs that pay higher wages by expanding workforce development
- Wants to secure U.S. borders with 700 miles of fencing along the southern border
- Supports more military spending, including for Ukraine
- Opposes gun control legislation
- Opposes abortion rights
- Voted against federal protections for same-sex marriage
Website: wickerforsenate.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Ty Pinkins, Democrat
Background: Ty Pinkins grew up on a cotton farm in Rolling Fork, Miss., as the son of a tractor driver. He served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, served three combat tours in Iraq and received a Bronze Star.
The veteran then went to law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.; he is the only member of his family to graduate high school and college. Pinkins later founded a nonprofit organization that helps young people in low-income communities and works to ensure equal representation.
Pinkins unsuccessfully ran for Mississippi Secretary of State in 2023 and lost to incumbent Republican Michael Watson.
The Democratic candidate says he wants to help pass legislation that would support small family farmers, bring in new jobs, lower the unemployment rate and improve education. A major part of Pinkins’ campaign is ensuring Mississippians have access to health care and health insurance, including Medicaid coverage through Medicaid expansion (though only members of the state Legislature can approve expansion). He has also focused on voting rights and supports easier voter registration, including allowing same-day voter registration.
Instead of treating immigrants as “criminals,” Pinkins says the U.S. should decriminalize migration and help people who want to become Americans while monitoring for migrants who may violate the law or harm citizens.
“So many of our elected leaders have failed us. … They have forgotten the importance of improving your lives and the lives of your families,” Pinkins said in a campaign promotional video.
Policy Views:
- Supports Medicaid expansion
- Advocates for small family farmers
- Wants to ensure affordable housing by enacting a “housing policy”
- Hopes to improve the public-education system by expanding reading, literacy and vocational programs
- Wants to invest in an environmentally sustainable infrastructure
- Supports decriminalizing migration
- Advocates for easier voter registration
Website: typinkins.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
U.S. House
Why House seats are important: The U.S. House of Representatives is one of two bodies in Congress that can write and pass federal laws. The House has the exclusive right to draft revenue bills, impeach federal officers and elect the president if none of the candidates collect a majority of votes from the Electoral College.
1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Democratic nominee Dianne Dodson Black will challenge 1st Congressional District incumbent Republican U.S. House Rep. Trent Kelly in the general election. Black defeated Democratic primary opponent Bronco Williams on Tuesday.
Trent Kelly, Republican (Incumbent)
Background: Incumbent U.S. House Rep. Trent Kelly is a Union, Miss., native and University of Mississippi graduate, where he also attended the School of Law. He is a major general in the Mississippi Army National Guard and the recipient of two Bronze Stars, the Combat Action Badge, the Bronze, Silver and Gold de Fleury medals. He served in Operation Desert Storm and multiple times in Iraq.
Kelly won a special runoff election in 2015 and has served in the U.S. House of Representatives ever since. He voted against impeaching former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol and opposed creating an independent commission to investigate the attack.
The representative also voted against a $1.7 trillion government-funding bill that included $600 million to help address the Jackson water crisis. Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in December 2022.
Kelly cosponsored H.R. 705, the Heartbeat Protection Act in 2022, which would enforce a nationwide ban on abortion once a baby’s heartbeat became detectable around six weeks of pregnancy. The bill died in committee during the 2022 legislative session.
He is running unopposed in the Republican primary.
Policy Views:
- Opposes gun-control legislation
- Says he wants to lower medication costs
- Opposes abortion access
- Wants to protect Social Security and Medicare access
Website: kellyformississippi.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Dianne Dodson Black, Democrat
Background: Dianne Dodson Black has been a cosmetologist and beauty-salon owner in Olive Branch, Miss., for 40 years. She unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Rep. Trent Kelly for the 1st Congressional District seat in the 2022 election. She was the first Black woman to run for Congress in Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District.
Black says Medicaid expansion is the solution to improve the state’s health-care system. She supports the 2021 Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have created federal rights for citizens to access abortion. The House passed the bill in 2021, but it died in the Senate.
She wants to raise the minimum wage and pass the child tax credit. The president should forgive student-loan debt and Congress should enact “common-sense gun laws,” Black argues.
“I will be the person to give voters a seat at the table where decisions are made about how to spend our tax dollars, protect our health care and how to address the climate crisis,” she says on her website.
Policy Views:
- Supports the Women’s Health Protection Act
- Says she wants to enact “common-sense gun laws”
- Supports raising the minimum wage
- Says she wants to protect voting rights
- Supports access to contraception and abortion
- Supports forgiving student loan debt
- Pro-criminal justice reform
Website: diannedodsonblackforcongress.com/
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram
2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Republicans Ron Eller and Andrew Scott Smith advanced to a two-person runoff after Tuesday’s primaries, with neither getting 50% of the vote. Taylor Turcotte, another Republican primary candidate, placed third. Whoever wins the runoff on April 2 will face longtime incumbent Democratic House Rep. Bennie Thompson in the general election.
Bennie Thompson, Democrat (Incumbent)
Background: Rep. Bennie Thompson is a Bolton, Miss., native and has degrees from Tougaloo College and Jackson State University. He served as an alderman and as the mayor of Bolton, Miss., before he became a Hinds County supervisor in 1980. After 13 years as a supervisor, Thompson became Mississippi’s representative for the 2nd Congressional District in 1993.
The congressman voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after the January 6th insurrection. As chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th, Thompson voted to refer the former president to the U.S. Department of Justice for prosecution after a lengthy investigation.
In July 2022, Thompson asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate allegations that former Gov. Phil Bryant was involved in the misspending of $77 million Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds. (Investigators have not accused Bryant of a crime, however).
The congressman led efforts in 2022 to give the City of Jackson $600 million in federal funds to help with the Jackson water crisis.
Policy Views:
- Wants to protect civil rights
- Wants to create more jobs through the Make It America Agenda
- Backs Medicaid expansion
- Wants to protect Social Security from cuts
- Hopes to restructure FEMA
- Wants to improve education through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Website: benniethompson.house.gov
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Ron Eller, Republican (Runoff candidate)
Background: West Virginia native Ron Eller retired as a captain in the U.S. Army after 20 years of service and many honors, including being named Soldier of the Year. He is currently a physician assistant at St. Dominic’s Hospital in Jackson, Miss.
The candidate unsuccessfully sought the nomination to challenge longtime Rep. Bennie Thompson in the 2022 election.
Eller says that while church and state are independent of each other, the church is critical to the integrity of the U.S. and claims the founding fathers built the country on Judeo-Christian beliefs. He does not support same-day voter registration and says that abortion should only be allowed if the pregnancy caused harm to the mother.
Eller believes that getting vaccinated is a personal choice and the government should not mandate it. He says he supports education and believes in education for incarcerated people.
“We need major prison reform to break the chain of repatriation of inmates. Inmates need to be taught life skills and an occupation to change their course,” he told the Mississippi Free Press in 2022.
Policy Views:
- Opposes abortion access
- Opposes gun-control laws
- Wants to secure the U.S. borders by building a wall
- Supports access to education for prisoners
- Opposes same-day voter registration
Website: voteroneller.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Andrew Scott Smith, Republican (Runoff candidate)
Background: Andrew Scott Smith grew up as the son of a single mother in Marion County, Miss. He has a degree in business administration from Mississippi State University and lives in the Jackson metropolitan area. He has worked in many fields, including the automotive industry and the real estate business.
The candidate wants to finish the Yazoo Pumps Drainage Project, which was supposed to stabilize backwater levels during floods and prevent it from ruining thousands of acres of farmland. The Environmental Protection Agency blocked the project in November 2021, saying the pumps violated the Clean Water Act and would damage thousands of acres of protected wetlands.
Revising Mississippi’s health-care system is one of Smith’s main priorities. He wants to help rural hospitals and get patients better access to health care. The candidate hopes to work on the mental-health care system and create modern mental-health facilities in the state that focus on compassionate, comprehensive care aimed to rehabilitate patients.
“We need some kind of actionable legislation to be able to put forward and keep them open,” Smith said in a promotional campaign video. “Our hospitals shouldn’t have to worry if they’re going to have the money to keep funding and keep the doors open.”
Policy Views:
- Wants to finish the Yazoo Pumps Drainage Project
- Wants to help rural hospitals by increasing funding
- Hopes to revise mental-health care by creating modern mental-health facilities
- Advocates for legalizing recreational marijuana
- Believes voting rights should be restored for formerly incarcerated people
Website: andrewscottsmith.com
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Incumbent Republican U.S. House Rep. Michael Guest faced no primary opponent and will face no Democratic challenger in the November election; the party did not field any challengers.
Michael Guest, Republican (Incumbent)
Background: Incumbent Rep. Michael Guest is running for his fourth term as representative for Mississippi’s 3rd congressional district. He is a Rankin County resident and a graduate of Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi School of Law. The congressman was the district attorney for Madison and Rankin Counties before he began serving in the U.S. House.
As chairman of the House Ethics Committee, Guest introduced a resolution to impeach Republican U.S. House Rep. George Santos of New York from Congress in November 2023.
Guest unsuccessfully pushed a national six-week abortion ban with no rape or incest exceptions in mid-2022. However, Mississippi implemented an abortion ban later that year after the Dobbs ruling that does not include exceptions for rape once cardiac activity is detectable (around six weeks).
The congressman supported a May 2021 bill that created a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, but later opposed establishing the congressional select committee that investigated the attacks. He voted against a $1.7 trillion government funding bill in 2022 that included $600 million to alleviate the Jackson water crisis. Guest has endorsed former President Donald Trump for reelection and accepted an endorsement from him.
“Mississippi is on the front lines, and I’m proud that Mississippi has led the fight in Dobbs v. (the Jackson Women’s Health Organization) to undo Roe v. Wade and protect life as we know it,” Guest said in an interview on Centerpoint TV in November 2023.
Policy Views:
- Says he wants to lower taxes
- Opposes abortion access
- Says he backs law enforcement
- Opposes gun-control laws
Website: michaelguest.ms
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Incumbent Republican House Rep. Mike Ezell defeated two primary challengers, Carl Boyanton and Michael McGill, in Tuesday’s primaries. Democratic candidate Craig Elliot Raybon, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination and does not appear to have created a campaign website or social media page, will challenge Ezell in the November election.
Mike Ezell, Republican (Incumbent)
Background: U.S. House Rep. Mike Ezell is a Pascagoula, Miss., native who graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi, the Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy and the FBI National Academy. He previously worked for the Pascagoula Police Department, serving as its police chief for two terms before becoming the sheriff of Jackson County in 2014. Ezell started his first term in Congress in 2022 after defeating former U.S. House Rep. Steven Palazzo.
He co-sponsored the federal Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would have banned transgender child and adult athletes from participating in girls’ and womens’ sports. The Republican-led U.S. House passed the bill, but it died in the U.S. Senate in 2023.
Ezell argued for banning access to the abortion pill mifepristone in a 2022 friend-of-the-court brief. He calls himself a “long-time supporter” of former President Donald Trump and pushes for “Trump-era policies that keep our nation strong.”
“I believe in smaller government, I believe in less taxes, I believe in more accountability,” Ezell said in an interview with C-SPAN in January 2023.
Policy Views:
- Opposes abortion access
- Says he supports law enforcement
- Opposes gun control laws
- Wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border
- Opposes cutting military budget
Website: mikeezell.ms
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Craig Elliot Raybon, Democrat
There is no available information online about Craig Elliot Raybon online.
Policy Views:
- None available
