Palazzo Headed To Runoff In MS 4th District Republican Primary

MISSISSIPPI — Embattled Rep. Steven Palazzo has advanced to a runoff in the Republican primary election for Mississippi's 4th Congressional District, according to a call made by the Associated Press late Tuesday.

Palazzo faced his largest primary field since being elected in 2011, and led the group of seven candidates with 31.6 percent of the vote as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night. The race for second is close between Mike Ezell and Clay Wagner, who had 25.2 percent and 22 percent of the vote late Tuesday.

Palazzo will face either of those two challengers in the June 28 runoff.

Ezell is a former Jackson County Sheriff, and Wagner is retired from a long banking career, ending as senior vice president at Hancock Whitney Bank.

State Sen. Brice Wiggins was in a distant fourth with 9.4 percent. Other Republican candidates included Carl Boyanton, Raymond Brooks and Kidron Peterson.

In the Democratic primary, Johnny DuPree handily won the nomination over David Sellers with nearly 85 percent of the vote.

If no candidate wins a majority of the votes, a runoff election will be held June 28.

Here are the latest election results from the Associated Press as of 10:03 p.m.:

Mississippi 4th Congressional District Republican Primary

• Steven Palazzo 16,079 (31.6%)
• Mike Ezell 12,808 (25.2%)
• Clay Wagner 11,209 (22.0%)
• Brice Wiggins 4,781 (9.4%)
• Carl Boyanton 3,179 (6.3%)
• Raymond Brooks 2,346 (4.6%)
• Kidron Peterson 454 (0.9%)

Mississippi 4th Congressional District Democratic Primary

• Johnny DuPree 9,607 (84.9%)
• David Sellers 1,707 (15.1%)

Palazzo, who has served as the 4th District's representative since 2011 and won re-election five times, has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since 2020 and is accused of misusing campaign funds for personal expenses. A 2021 congressional ethics report also accuses him of using his office to help his brother re-enlist in the Navy and using staff for personal errands and services.

Palazzo's campaign confirmed to Forbes that $61,000 from his campaign funds categorized as legal fees on a 2020 year-end campaign finance report were for fighting the ethics allegations.

In 2020, Palazzo won over two-thirds of the vote in a four-candidate primary and ran uncontested in the general election.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.