Incumbents hold in Mississippi primaries as Hyde-Smith, Thompson advance to November

State voters largely stuck with the status quo in the 2026 midterm primary elections on Tuesday, affirming the strength of incumbency in a state where federal offices have not changed party hands since 2010.

Voters chose party nominees for one U.S. Senate seat and all four of the state’s congressional districts. The nominees will compete in the general election on Nov. 3.

U.S. Senate

Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith decisively won her party’s nomination, defeating primary challenger Sarah Adlakha, a physician and novelist who ran as a political outsider critical of career politicians in Washington.

The Associated Press called the race less than an hour after polls closed. Hyde-Smith, who has held the seat since former Gov. Phil Bryant appointed her in April 2018 to replace retiring Thad Cochran, won a special election later that year and a full six-year term in 2020. She is the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress and campaigned with the endorsement of President Donald Trump, emphasizing support for Mississippi farmers, tighter immigration policies and opposition to abortion rights.

On the Democratic side, Scott Colom, the district attorney for Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha counties, won the nomination over Marine Corps veteran Albert Littell and Priscilla Williams-Till, a distant cousin of lynching victim Emmett Till.

Hyde-Smith will face Colom and Independent candidate Ty Pinkins in the November general election. Republicans have held the seat for nearly 50 years, and Mississippi is widely considered a GOP stronghold at the federal level.

2nd Congressional District

The most closely watched House race on Tuesday’s ballot was in the 2nd Congressional District, where longtime Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson defeated two primary challengers, including Evan Turnage, a 34-year-old antitrust lawyer and former senior adviser to Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren. The third candidate was Pertis Herman Williams III, who called for a new era of leadership. Thompson, 78, has held the seat since 1993, when he succeeded Mike Espy, and serves as the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. He previously chaired the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The contest reflected a broader generational struggle playing out within the Democratic Party, as younger candidates across the country have mounted challenges against long-serving incumbents. Turnage staked his candidacy on a message of economic populism and positioned himself as a leader capable of understanding and regulating Big Tech and artificial intelligence. But Thompson’s deep roots in the district and long record proved durable. Marvin King, an associate professor of political science at the University of Mississippi, noted that Thompson’s 17 terms in Congress have made him an institution in a state where voters tend to reelect incumbents.

The 2nd District stretches from the central part of the state west to the Mississippi River, including the Delta and southwestern counties, and is a majority-Black Democratic stronghold in a state led mainly by Republicans.

On the Republican side, military veteran and physician assistant Ron Eller is running against Kevin Wilson, an oilman and county supervisor, for the GOP nomination. Thompson defeated Eller in the 2024 general election with 62 percent of the vote.

1st and 3rd Congressional Districts

Republican incumbents Trent Kelly in the 1st Congressional District and Michael Guest in the 3rd Congressional District both ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Guest will face Democrat Michael Chiaradio, a former baseball player turned regenerative farmer, who also ran unopposed in his party’s primary. Kelly will face the winner of the Democratic primary between Cliff Johnson, a University of Mississippi law professor, and former Marshall County state Rep. Kelvin Buck. President Trump endorsed all three Republican House incumbents seeking reelection.

4th Congressional District

In the 4th Congressional District along the Gulf Coast, incumbent Republican Mike Ezell faced a primary challenge from Sawyer Walters. Three Democrats—including state Rep. Jeffrey Hulum III of Gulfport—competed for their party’s nomination.

Looking ahead

Mississippi does not have in-person early voting, and the state does not register voters by party, meaning any eligible voter may participate in any party’s primary. If no candidate in a contested race receives a majority, a primary runoff is scheduled for April 7.

The general election is Nov. 3, 2026, with a general runoff set for Dec. 1 if needed. Control of Congress is not expected to hinge on Mississippi’s federal races, but the primaries offered an early read on voter engagement and party dynamics heading into the midterms.