Longtime U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson won the Democratic nomination for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday, beating a younger challenger, Evan Turnage, in a primary that highlighted a generational split within the party.
Thompson, a 78-year-old civil rights leader who chaired the House Jan. 6 Committee, has held the seat for more than three decades. He also serves as a ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, and his win positions him to seek an 18th congressional term, according to Tuesday’s race results coverage.
Thompson’s Democratic district spans central Mississippi west to the Mississippi River and is considered a Democratic stronghold. He said on Tuesday night that he plans to return to Washington to address a partial government shutdown and to push for transparency around the Iran war.
Speaking to reporters after the race, Thompson tied his political approach to his time in Congress, saying, “Seniority is how you get things done in Washington.” He added that if Democrats retake control of the House in November, he would become chair of the committee overseeing the Department of Homeland Security.
Turnage, 34, had framed his candidacy as part of an effort by younger Democrats to challenge older incumbents. He previously served as counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and in his closing argument he cast himself as a leader who could understand and regulate Big Tech and artificial intelligence.
In his statement conceding the primary, Turnage said, “I can only wish Rep. Thompson the best and hope that being granted another term pushes him to meet this moment,” and he added, “Our people cannot afford another decade of the same.”
Voters who supported Thompson described his experience and committee leadership as reasons to stay with the incumbent. Dyamone White, who said she went to high school with Turnage but voted for Thompson, said his leadership and decades of service “is nothing that should be forgotten” and that he “has served his district well.” Selket Myles, who lives in Jackson, Mississippi, said she voted for Thompson citing his experience and his work on the House Jan. 6 Committee, adding, “He knows the issues,” which she said “makes me trust him.”
Thompson said in an interview just after polls closed at 7 p.m. local time that he has spent his life creating opportunities for people who want to run for office, and that he believes there is room for people of all ages in politics. “You make a choice to run, and I’ll continue to fight for you to have that right to run,” he said.
Thompson’s win came as incumbents across the ticket continued to benefit from name recognition in a state primary setting that also included other federal and statewide contests. In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated challenger Sarah Adlakha as she runs for reelection, and Hyde-Smith will face Scott Colom in the general election after Colom secured the Democratic nomination over candidates Priscilla Till and Albert Littell.
In the 2nd District’s Republican primary, results were too early for The Associated Press to call. Ron Eller, a military veteran and physician assistant, and Kevin Wilson, an oilman and county supervisor, were separated by only a few hundred votes, the coverage said. Eller had previously been defeated by Thompson in the 2024 general election, when Thompson won with 62% of the vote.
Thompson also previously defeated other Democratic challengers in the district, including Pertis Herman Williams III. Marvin King, an associate professor of political science at the University of Mississippi, said Thompson’s 17 terms in Congress have made him an institution, adding that no challenger had effectively shown why Thompson should be “dethroned.”