Mississippi's 4th Congressional District election, 2026
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| Mississippi's 4th Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: December 26, 2025 |
| Primary: March 10, 2026 Primary runoff: April 7, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th Mississippi elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
All U.S. House districts, including the 4th Congressional District of Mississippi, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is March 10, 2026, and a primary runoff is April 7, 2026. The general runoff is December 1, 2026. The filing deadline was December 26, 2025. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:
- Mississippi's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 10 Democratic primary)
- Mississippi's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 10 Republican primary)
Candidates and election results
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
The primary will occur on March 10, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Carl Boyanton is running in the general election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Carl Boyanton (Independent) | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Charles Claburn (American Independent Conservative Party)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Paul Blackman, D. Ryan Grover, and Jeffrey Hulum III are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on March 10, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Incumbent Mike Ezell and Sawyer Walters are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on March 10, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Ezell | |
 | Sawyer Walters | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Mills (R)
Candidate profiles
There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Mississippi
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Ezell | Republican Party | $449,398 | $255,892 | $344,971 | As of September 30, 2025 |
| Paul Blackman | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| D. Ryan Grover | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Jeffrey Hulum III | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Sawyer Walters | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Carl Boyanton | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]
| Race ratings: Mississippi's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| 1/27/2026 | 1/20/2026 | 1/13/2026 | 1/6/2026 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Decision Desk HQ and The Hill | Pending | Pending | Pending | Pending | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | Solid Republican | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | Safe Republican | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week. | |||||||||
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Mississippi in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Mississippi, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| Mississippi | U.S. House | Democratic | N/A | $500 | 12/26/2025 | Source |
| Mississippi | U.S. House | Republican | N/A | $2500 | 12/26/2025 | Source |
| Mississippi | U.S. House | Unaffiliated | $200 | 500 | 12/26/2025 | Source |
District history
The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.
General election
General election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Incumbent Mike Ezell (R) defeated Craig Raybon (D) in the general election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Ezell (R) | 73.9 | 215,095 |
 | Craig Raybon (D) | 26.1 | 75,771 | |
| Total votes: 290,866 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Craig Raybon (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on March 12, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Craig Raybon | 100.0 | 9,720 |
| Total votes: 9,720 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Incumbent Mike Ezell (R) defeated Carl Boyanton (R) and Michael McGill (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on March 12, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Ezell | 73.3 | 52,028 |
| | Carl Boyanton | 18.9 | 13,432 | |
 | Michael McGill | 7.7 | 5,493 | |
| Total votes: 70,953 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Mike Ezell (R) defeated Johnny DuPree (D) and Alden Johnson (L) in the general election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Ezell (R) | 73.3 | 127,813 |
 | Johnny DuPree (D) | 24.6 | 42,876 | |
 | Alden Johnson (L) | 2.0 | 3,569 | |
| Total votes: 174,258 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Graham Hudson (Independent)
- Aaron Lee (Independent)
Republican primary runoff
Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Mike Ezell (R) defeated incumbent Steven Palazzo (R) in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Ezell | 53.8 | 31,225 |
 | Steven Palazzo | 46.2 | 26,849 | |
| Total votes: 58,074 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Johnny DuPree (D) defeated David Sellers (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Johnny DuPree | 84.9 | 9,952 |
 | David Sellers | 15.1 | 1,766 | |
| Total votes: 11,718 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steven Palazzo | 31.5 | 16,387 |
| ✔ | | Mike Ezell | 25.0 | 13,020 |
 | Clay Wagner | 22.5 | 11,698 | |
 | Brice Wiggins | 9.3 | 4,859 | |
| | Carl Boyanton | 6.2 | 3,224 | |
 | Raymond Brooks | 4.6 | 2,405 | |
 | Kidron Peterson | 0.9 | 449 | |
| Total votes: 52,042 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Louis Hook (R)
Libertarian Party primary
The Libertarian Party primary scheduled for June 7, 2022, was canceled. Alden Johnson (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 without appearing on the ballot.
General election
General election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Incumbent Steven Palazzo (R) won election in the general election for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steven Palazzo (R) | 100.0 | 255,971 |
| Total votes: 255,971 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary
The Democratic primary scheduled for March 10, 2020, was canceled.
Republican primary
Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4
Incumbent Steven Palazzo (R) defeated Robert Deming (R), Samuel Hickman (R), and Carl Boyanton (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on March 10, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steven Palazzo | 66.8 | 54,318 |
| Robert Deming | 14.1 | 11,463 | ||
| Samuel Hickman | 9.8 | 7,981 | ||
| | Carl Boyanton | 9.3 | 7,533 | |
| Total votes: 81,295 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.
This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Mississippi.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Mississippi in 2026. Information below was calculated on Dec. 26, 2025, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Fifteen candidates — nine Democrats and six Republicans — ran for Mississippi’s four U.S. House districts. That’s 3.8 candidates per district. There were three candidates per district in 2024, 5.8 in 2022, 3.8 in 2020, 3.5 in 2018, 2.8 in 2016, and 4.3 in 2014.
No districts were open in 2026, meaning all incumbents — one Democrat and three Republicans — ran for re-election. There was one district open in 2018, the only election cycle since 2014 in which a district was open.
Five primaries — three Democratic and two Republican — were contested in 2026. In total, there were three contested primaries in 2024, seven in 2022, five in 2020, three in 2018, three in 2016, and six in 2014.
Two districts — the 2nd and the 4th — tied for the most candidates who ran for a district in 2026. Three candidates ran in each district.
Two incumbents — Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-2nd) and Mike Ezell (R-4th) — faced primary challengers in 2026. There was one incumbent in a contested primary in 2024, four in 2022, three in 2020, one in 2018, two in 2016, and three in 2014.
Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all four districts, meaning no districts were guaranteed to either party.Partisan Voter Index
Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+21. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 21 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Mississippi's 4th the 29th most Republican district nationally.[5]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.
Kamala Harris  | Donald Trump  |
|---|---|
| 28.0% | 71.0% |
Presidential voting history
Mississippi presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 15 Republican wins
- 2 other wins
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Mississippi's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Mississippi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Republican | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 4 | 6 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Mississippi's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Tate Reeves |
| Lieutenant Governor | Delbert Hosemann |
| Secretary of State | Michael Watson |
| Attorney General | Lynn Fitch |
State legislature
Mississippi State Senate
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 18 | |
| Republican Party | 34 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | |
Mississippi House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 42 | |
| Republican Party | 78 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 122 | |
Trifecta control
Mississippi Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Fourteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R[9] | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
- ↑ Although he was not on the ballot, Harry F. Byrd (D) won Mississippi's eight unpledged electoral votes in the 1960 election against Richard Nixon (R) and Democratic Party nominee John F. Kennedy.
- ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
- ↑ American Independent Party
- ↑ Republicans gained a majority in 2007 when two Democratic state senators switched their party affiliation. Democrats regained the majority as a result of the 2007 elections.
