Thompson’s victory on Tuesday keeps him on a path toward another term representing Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District, a seat with Democratic strength that stretches from central parts of the state west to the Mississippi River. The race pitted the longtime incumbent against a younger Democrat campaigning on a generational shift and a more aggressive agenda on economic issues and industry regulation.
Thompson, 78, is the civil rights leader who chairs the House Jan. 6 Committee and serves as a ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. According to the Associated Press, he beat Turnage and held off a primary challenge that followed a broader pattern of younger Democrats seeking to challenge older members of their party.
The challenger, Evan Turnage, 34, is an antitrust lawyer who had experience in Washington, including serving as counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Turnage argued that another decade of the same leadership was not affordable for “our people,” and he said in a statement conceding the race that he hoped Thompson’s win would push him “to meet this moment.”
Thompson told reporters on Tuesday night that “Seniority is how you get things done in Washington,” framing his long tenure as a source of legislative effectiveness. He also said that if Democrats retake control of the House in November, he would become chair of the committee overseeing the Department of Homeland Security.
Thompson said he was looking forward to getting back to Washington as lawmakers respond to a partial government shutdown and pursue what he described as transparency around the Iran war. He also said he wants Democrats to “get Donald Trump in check,” adding a national political message to a race centered on local representation.
In the Bolton area, Dyamone White said she voted for Thompson after attending high school with Turnage and went to a election-night gathering for Thompson. White, who owns a business next door to Thompson’s office in Bolton, said Thompson’s decades of service “is nothing that should be forgotten” and that he “has served his district well.”
Turnage had sought to build support by positioning himself as a leader who could understand and regulate big tech and artificial intelligence, and the AP described him as part of a wave of younger Democrats looking to “usher in a new era.” In the concession statement he said he wished Thompson the best while arguing that “our people cannot afford another decade of the same.”
Political analysts suggested Thompson’s durability in the district reflects name recognition and established institutional power. 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,” and he argued no other challenger had effectively shown why Thompson should be dethroned.
Other parts of Tuesday’s Mississippi primary ballot also produced outcomes on both parties. In the Republican primary for a state seat, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith defeated challenger Sarah Adlakha, and in the general election Hyde-Smith was set to face Scott Colom, who secured the Democratic nomination over Priscilla Till and Albert Littell.
In the 2nd District’s Republican contest, the AP said the result was too early to call as of shortly after polls closed, with Ron Eller and Kevin Wilson separated by only a few hundred votes. Thompson previously defeated Eller in the 2024 general election, winning with 62% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.