Sometimes, you have to try, even if the outcome is inevitable.
On March 10, incumbent U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson defeated his two opponents, Evan Turnage and Pertis Williams, in the Democratic primary for Thompson’s U.S. House seat representing the 2nd Congressional District. Though it was a three-candidate race, it was Turnage who sparked significant interest. Turnage is a former counselor to U.S. senators and the director of a nonprofit, and on paper, he represented the most significant primary challenge of Thompson’s career. Thompson has never faced a significant challenge in any primary election, and he’s always cruised to reelection when facing the Republican candidate.
But Turnage, at 34 years old, also represented a growing youth movement in the Democratic Party. Youth movements are nothing new in politics, but the most recent iteration probably ignited following the poor debate performance of former President Joe Biden in the summer of 2024. Three House Democrats, all in their 70s, died from various health-related issues in 2025. Around the country, we see new faces in their 20s, 30s and 40s challenging older incumbents.
While Father Time is undefeated, Bennie Thompson—who celebrated his 78th birthday in January—has not publicly demonstrated any sort of physical or cognitive decline. He seems prepared, as he said before the primary, to serve as long as he’s capable.
And speaking as someone who lives in Leflore County, Thompson is popular here. He’s a friend of retired state Sen. David Jordan and several of the county supervisors. Thompson visits the Greenwood Voters League at least once a year and his appearances usually have high attendance. That trust and familiarity matters significantly in politics.
The end result wasn’t particularly close. More than 72,000 people voted in the Democratic primary. Thompson earned 86% of those votes, defeating Turnage and Williams by a massive 52,000 vote margin. Leflore County voted for Thompson overwhelmingly with 2,226 votes compared to Turnage’s 149. I was next door in Carroll County reporting election results for the Associated Press, and though it has an even smaller population than Leflore, voters still chose Thompson overwhelmingly. He earned 644 votes to Turnage’s 146.
This isn’t to pile on Turnage. Thompson came into the race with significant advantages. Name recognition, fundraising, infrastructure and the backing of the national party. And there isn’t anywhere close to the kind of dissatisfaction for Thompson that there is with other Democratic politicians. The figurative mountain Turnage decided to climb would have been insurmountable for almost anyone.
Evan Turnage should be commended for trying. Mississippi hasn’t been friendly to Democratic Party ambitions for several years. If you’re a Democrat and want to represent Mississippi in Congress, the 2nd Congressional District is the only reliable path forward. Considering Turnage’s background, he could have moved permanently somewhere else and succeeded. But he chose to return to Mississippi and uplift his home.
The vast majority of the 2nd Congressional District is made up of the Mississippi Delta. I’ve lived in the Delta most of my life. Economic opportunities are few and far between. The Delta doesn’t usually get these big economic development projects like you’ll see in the Golden Triangle, for example (and I’m not talking about data centers).
Many schools are in poor conditions and replacing them is financially prohibitive. The area has lost a lot of population over the last quarter century. Large employers don’t want to come to sparsely populated areas. So it becomes a vicious cycle. And this isn’t news to Delta residents—we’ve talked with them about the many challenges facing the region in our Solutions Circles in Lexington and Greenwood. (We have one upcoming on April 6 in Greenville, and for those in Greenville reading this, we invite you to take part.)
Turnage told the Mississippi Free Press when he launched his campaign that the 2nd Congressional District needs someone to fight for it. It took a lot of guts to take on one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress.
I commend Evan Turnage for trying, even with the odds stacked against him. I hope more people around our age use him as an example to commit to improving conditions in their community, even if improvement is difficult. I know of a lot of people who decided, for one reason or another, that they’d have more success away from Mississippi. I’m sure Turnage was disappointed with the primary results, but he has built something both for his future and the future of the region he cares about.
The next thing to do is to get up and try again. Mississippi needs people like Evan Turnage, in and out of government.
This MFP Voices opinion essay reflects the personal opinion of its author(s). The column does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.