District 2 House race provides some intrigue on election day of blowouts

In a night filled with blowout races and old faces, the District 2 congressional Republican Primary gave Mississippians a smidge of drama.

Mississippi voters took to the polls on Tuesday to decide which lawmakers would secure the Republican or Democratic nominations and see their name on the ballot come November. Well, at least some did as low voter turnout was an issue throughout the state, according to Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson's office.

Three Republican candidates started the day trying to secure a Republican nomination in District 2 and a chance to face off against longtime Democratic Mississippi powerhouse Bennie Thompson. Now, two candidates will be heading to a run-off election on April 2.

Thompson secured the Democratic nomination for District 2 after running unopposed. He has held the position since 1993 and is looking to secure his 16th term representing the state in Washington D.C.

As of Wednesday, Republican candidates, Ron Eller and Andrew Smith, have each yet to get more than the 50% of votes needed to win the nomination, which moves them to a run-off.

Eller leads with 46.5% of the vote. Smith sits at 35.9%. In District 2, 98% of precincts have reported.

The third Republican candidate, Taylor Turcotte, is out of the race with only 17.6% of the vote.

Eller told the Clarion Ledger on Tuesday night he thought a run-off was in the future.

“It’s in God’s hands," Eller said.

Smith added, "we will sucker him out.”

Polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday. In Mississippi, state officials have 10 days to ratify an election, so voting percentages and total amount of votes are subject to change.

Below are the results for the U.S. Senate race and Mississippi's three other congressional districts, as well as an update on the presidential race.

More on Districts 2 and 3 candidates: See who will be on ballots for Congress in 2nd and 3rd districts in Mississippi Primary

Biden, Trump clinch Democratic, Republican nominations

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both secured wins in Georgia minutes after polls closed.

With that victory, as well as winning nominations in Mississippi and the Northern Marianna Islands, Biden secured the presumptive Democratic nomination for president. The Associated Press called the race in Mississippi for Biden in one minute.

Trump won Mississippi, which has 40 Republican delegates at stake, in nine minutes, according to the Associated Press. He later became the presumptive nominee with a win later Tuesday in Washington state.

Mississippi U.S. Senate race

Incumbent Republican Roger Wicker, who has been representing Mississippi in the U.S. Senate since 2007, secured the Republican nomination. The Associated Press called the race for Wicker in just over an hour. Only 13% of precincts reported when the race was called, and Wicker had 60.5% of the vote.

With 98% of the vote in by Wednesday afternoon, Wicker had 61.3% of the vote. Ghannon Burton was a distant second with 24.9% of the vote, while Dan Eubanks was third with 13.9%.

Wicker will be up against Democrat Ty Pinkins in November's general election. Pinkins, who ran for Secretary of State last fall, secured the Democratic nomination after running unopposed.

More on MS Senate candidates: Two Republicans and one Democrat are challenging incumbent Sen. Roger Wicker

Burton, a Marine Corps veteran, and Eubanks, a lawmaker in the Mississippi House of Representatives, couldn't match Wicker's dominance.

When the race was called, both Burton and Eubanks had 20% of the vote. Nearly 98% of precincts have reported.

See our live coverage: Ezell wins GOP House primary in District 4. Follow live election coverage for full results

District 1 House race

Incumbent Republican Trent Kelly ran unopposed. He took over the District 1 seat after the death of Republican Alan Nunnelee in 2015 and is looking to secure his fifth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Come November, Kelly will be facing Dianne Black, who secured the Democratic nomination. The Associated Press called the race for Black in under an hour, with only 25% of precincts reporting. At the time, she had just over 86% of the vote.

She defeated Matthew "Bronco" Williams, who had only 14% of the vote when the race was called.

With nearly 98% of precincts reporting, Black clinched the race with 84.9% of the vote and Williams only getting 15.1%.

District 3 House race

For the District 3 seat, Incumbent Michael Guest secured the Republican nomination. He ran unopposed.

No Democrat will be competing in Guest in the general election, securing Guest's fourth term. He was first elected in 2018.

Democrat Jarvis Gordan originally announced his intent to compete against Guest. But last week, a Mississippi Democratic Party spokesperson told the Clarion Ledger that Gordan dropped out of the race earlier in March.

While Guest didn't release a statement following the closing of polls, he did post on X, formerly known as Twitter, urging Mississippians to vote in the afternoon on Tuesday.

"Please make your voice heard in today’s Republican primary election. Polls are open until 7:00 pm tonight across Mississippi. Today we can honor our veterans and military who protect our freedoms by exercising our right to vote in this important election," Guest's Twitter stated.

District 4 House race

Incumbent Mike Ezell has secured the Republican nomination for District 4. If re-elected in November, it will be Ezell's second term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Associated Press called the race for Ezell in just under an hour and a half. At the time, he had 71% of the vote with 43% of precincts reporting.

He defeated two Republican challengers: Carl Boyanton and Michael McGill.

With 98% of precincts in District 4 reporting, Ezell had 73.2% of the vote, Boyanton 19.1% and McGill 7.7%.

Ezell will go to head-to-head with Craig Raybon in the November General Election. Raybon ran unopposed, securing the Democratic nomination.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: 2024 Mississippi Presidential Primaries: See who won MS races