Mississippi's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 10 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
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
General runoff: December 1, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Mississippi

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
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
Mississippi's 4th Congressional District
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

A Democratic Party primary took place on March 10, 2026, in Mississippi's 4th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Jeffrey Hulum III advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 26, 2025
March 10, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election.

In Mississippi, primaries are open, meaning any registered voter may vote in the primary of their choice. State law says: "No person shall vote or attempt to vote in the primary election of one (1) party when he or she has voted on the same date in the primary election of another party."[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Mississippi's 4th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4

Jeffrey Hulum III (D) defeated Paul Blackman (D) and D. Ryan Grover (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 on March 10, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jeffrey Hulum III
Jeffrey Hulum III
 
58.3
 
10,513
Image of Paul Blackman
Paul Blackman  Candidate Connection
 
27.3
 
4,922
Image of D. Ryan Grover
D. Ryan Grover
 
14.5
 
2,609

There were no incumbents in this race. Source

Total votes: 18,044
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Paul Blackman

Image of Paul Blackman

Facebook

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "My name is Paul James Blackman, and I’m running to represent Mississippi’s Fourth Congressional District because I believe public office is a duty, not a club. I’m a U.S. Navy veteran, a husband and father of three, and like many people in our community I balance work, family, and school while trying to build a better future. I wasn’t born in Mississippi, but this state is my home. My wife is from here, and we chose to build our lives here after my military service. Like many families along the Gulf Coast, we understand what it means to work hard and still worry about the future. I see neighbors working full-time yet struggling with rising costs, uncertainty about retirement, and a sense that the system is no longer working for ordinary people. That’s why I’m running. I believe Mississippi deserves leadership that focuses on economic security, fairness, and accountability. That means protecting Social Security, strengthening retirement savings so working people can actually retire with dignity, supporting veterans and working families, and making sure government works for the people who pay for it. I’m not running to become part of Washington. I’m running to represent the people of South Mississippi and bring a practical, straightforward voice to Congress—one that believes if you work, serve your country, and play by the rules, you deserve a fair shot at a stable life."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

PROTECT RETIREMENT SECURITY FOR WORKING AMERICANS. If you work your whole life, you should be able to retire with dignity. My campaign focuses on protecting Social Security while strengthening retirement savings so working people can build real financial security over time. Too many Americans reach retirement age without the stability they were promised. I support policies that preserve Social Security as the foundation of retirement while encouraging stronger long-term savings so that ordinary workers—not just the wealthy—can look forward to a stable future.

PUBLIC OFFICE IS A DUTY NOT A CLUB I believe public office should be treated as a responsibility to the people, not membership in a political club. Government works best when it is transparent, accountable, and focused on solving real problems. My approach to leadership is grounded in service, respect for democratic institutions, and honest communication with constituents. Representatives should listen carefully, explain their decisions clearly, and focus on policies that improve people’s lives rather than chasing headlines or partisan fights.

PRACTICAL LEADERSHIP FOR MISSISSIPPI FAMILIES South Mississippi deserves leadership focused on practical solutions that help families and communities thrive. My campaign is centered on economic stability, support for veterans, and policies that strengthen opportunity for working people. I believe in commonsense leadership that looks for results instead of political theatre. My goal is to represent the people of our district with fairness, integrity, and a commitment to policies that improve everyday life across our communities.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Mississippi District 4 in 2026.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Mississippi

Election information in Mississippi: March 10, 2026, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Feb. 9, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Feb. 9, 2026
  • Online: N/A

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: N/A
  • By mail: N/A by N/A
  • Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: N/A
  • By mail: Postmarked by March 10, 2026

Was early voting available to all voters?

No

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to N/A

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (CT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
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***

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."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

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.

2023_01_03_ms_congressional_district_04.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

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

See also: The Cook Political Report's 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.[2]

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.

2024 presidential results in Mississippi's 4th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
28.0%71.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Mississippi, 2024

Mississippi presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 16 Democratic wins
  • 15 Republican wins
  • 2 other wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960[3] 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party D D D D D D D D D D D D SR[4] D D D R AI[5] R D R R R R R R R R R R R R
See also: Party control of Mississippi state government

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.

State executive officials in Mississippi, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Tate Reeves
Lieutenant GovernorRepublican Party Delbert Hosemann
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Michael Watson
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party 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[6] 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

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

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LexisNexis, "Miss. Code Ann. § 23–15–575," accessed October 21, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ States' Rights Democratic Party
  5. ↑ American Independent Party
  6. ↑ 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.


Mississippi's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Cindy Hyde-Smith (R)
Roger Wicker (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Republican Party (5)
Democratic Party (1)


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