Mississippi Republican Sen. Wicker advances to general election. State also holds 4 House primaries

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippians voted in party primaries Tuesday for all four of the state’s U.S. House seats and one U.S. Senate seat.

The general election is Nov. 5.

Here’s a look at the races and candidates:

SENATE

Sen. Roger Wicker defeated two challengers in the Republican primary — Ghannon Burton and Dan Eubanks.

Wicker will face Democrat Ty Pinkins in the general election.

Pinkins was unopposed for his party’s nomination. He is an attorney and ran for Mississippi secretary of state in 2023. He said he wants to fight poverty and improve access to health care.

Wicker was appointed to the Senate in 2007 by then-Gov. Haley Barbour after fellow Republican Trent Lott stepped down. He is an attorney and served in the Mississippi state Senate before winning a U.S. House seat in north Mississippi in 1994. Wicker is the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee and has pushed to expand shipbuilding for the U.S. military. He has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Burton is a military veteran. He said he believes the 2020 presidential election was rigged, and he criticized Wicker for voting to certify the results. Burton said he wants to close the U.S. border but he believes “globalists want it open.” Burton also said he believes COVID-19 vaccines are poison.

Eubanks is a state representative and a Presbyterian pastor. He said he believes “J-6ers” — people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol — have been denied due process and are “rotting away in jail.” Eubanks said he wants to reduce federal spending and he believes Wicker’s record is “anything but conservative.”

____

HOUSE DISTRICT 1

Business owner Dianne Dodson Black won the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District. She advances to the general election to face Republican Rep. Trent Kelly, who was unopposed in his primary.

This will be a rematch of the 2022 race, when Kelly defeated Black.

Kelly is a former district attorney and has been in the House since winning a 2015 special election. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Black defeated Bronco Williams, who is a teacher. Black said she wants to support President Joe Biden’s economic policies, restore abortion rights and limit access to semiautomatic rifles.

___

HOUSE DISTRICT 2

Ron Eller and Andrew Scott Smith have advanced to an April 2 runoff for the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District.

The winner will go to the Nov. 5 general election to face Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson. He has held the office since 1993, when he won a special election, and is the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee.

The 2nd District encompasses most of the city of Jackson, plus rural areas in the Delta and along the Mississippi River.

Eller is a military veteran and physician assistant who ran unsuccessfully for the 2nd District nomination in 2022. He said he supports construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and expansion of domestic energy production.

Smith has worked in farming and commercial real estate. He said he wants to rejuvenate agriculture, rebuild infrastructure, reinforce the southern border and require more transparency in government.

The candidate eliminated in the primary was Taylor Turcotte, who has worked in advertising.

___

HOUSE DISTRICT 3

Republican Rep. Michael Guest was unopposed in the primary and also will face no opposition in the general election for central Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District. Guest is a former district attorney 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.

___

HOUSE DISTRICT 4

First-term Rep. Mike Ezell has defeated two challengers to win the Republican nomination in south Mississippi’s 4th District.

He advances to the general election to face Craig Elliot Raybon, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Ezell is a former sheriff who was endorsed by Trump. He has voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and to end military assistance to Ukraine.

Ezell defeated Carl Boyanton and Michael McGill in Tuesday’s primary.

Boyanton owned a produce distribution company. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for the 4th District seat in 2020 and 2022. He said he wants to enact term limits, eliminate some federal agencies and limit spending.

McGill is a military veteran. He said he wants to improve power grids, highways and other infrastructure, as well as increase funding for mental health services and eliminate pay disparities between women and men.

___

This story has been corrected to show Roger Wicker was appointed to the Senate in 2007, not 2017.

Emily Wagster Pettus, The Associated Press