Sitting congressmen for Mississippi’s 1st and 2nd districts have secured their party nominations with overwhelming margins, but incumbents in the 3rd and 4th districts will both participate in a run-off for the Republican ticket. Nathan Shrader is Chair of the Department of Government and Politics at Millsaps College. He says Mississippi is one of the only states to hold run-off elections, and it scarcely involves incumbent candidates.
Shrader says “When I last looked at it, I think it was as of 2018 or 2020, the incumbent reelection rate in the U.S. House of Representatives topped 90%. So the fact that you have two endangered incumbents, both in the same state, both in the same party, that’s what make these races what we’ve all gotta be watching closely.”
Representative Steven Palazzo of the Fourth District, who is facing ethics complaints alleging misuse of campaign funds, qualified for the run-off against Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell.
Third district incumbent Michael Guest voted in favor of creating a bipartisan January 6th commission, and Shrader says opposing candidate Michael Cassidy heavily criticizes that vote. He says all four participants in the runoffs face unique challenges going forward.
“Plus, we’re holding a run-off in late June as people are going on vacation. They’re focused on anything but politics,” says Shrader. “So getting voters back out to the polls is a challenge if you are one of these candidates because you’ve gotta convince your folks ‘Hey look this is a big deal that we made it this far, but you’ve gotta get back out and do it all over again.”
The primary election runoffs will be held June 28th.
