(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., won the Democratic nomination for his seat in Congress Tuesday that he was first elected to in 1993, surviving a primary challenge from 34-year-old antitrust lawyer Evan Turnage.
Thompson’s win marks a significant victory in a battleground race, per Ballotpedia. The incumbent Democrat, 78, saw a competitive challenge from Turnage to secure his nomination on the Democratic ticket.
Thompson was endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the Teamsters union and several other federal government worker unions. Turnage criticized Thompson for his longstanding tenure in the U.S. House and said his campaign was an attempt to reverse course.
“For this moment, we need a new fighter who’s going to take the mantle of civil rights and marry it with the mantle of economic rights so that every Mississippian has an opportunity to thrive here,” Turnage said.
Conversely, Thompson boasted of his decades-long tenure in the House, saying it has made him more effective in his job.
“In Washington, it’s relationships but it’s also seniority,” Thompson said. “The only reason we were able to get anything in our area has been because my seniority puts me in the room when things are done.”
Thompson will face off against Republican nominee Ron Eller, a physician assistant. Eller previously sought the seat in Mississippi’s second congressional district in 2024, but lost out to Thompson.
“Unlike others in this race I have the commitment needed to move Mississippi and America forward,” Eller wrote in Ballotpedia’s candidate connection survey. “It is my pledge to serve our state and nation with the pride, integrity and honor that will reflect great credit upon my family and our nation.”
The Cook Political Report ranks Mississippi’s second congressional district as solidly Democrat.