9 challengers want Steven Palazzo’s seat in Congress. Meet candidates before primary.
Six Republican challengers from the Mississippi Coast are running in the June 7 primary election against U.S. Cong. Steven Palazzo.
Two Democrats are on the ballot in the primary election and the winners of these two races will face off with one Libertarian candidate who has qualified in Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District.
The midterm general election is Nov. 8, and is especially contentious this year with high inflation, supply chain issues and the division between parties.
The congressional district covers Southeast Mississippi and includes all six counties of South Mississippi and goes north to the Pine Belt region and Hattiesburg.
Palazzo is a native of Guflport. Republican challengers with the most name recognition on the Coast are state Sen. Brice Wiggins, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell and retired banker Clay Wagner.
With so many candidates, it’s possibly a Republican Primary runoff will be necessary on June 28 if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.
Here are the candidates, their qualifications and their platforms:
Republican Primary
Steven Palazzo was elected to the Mississippi Legislature in 2006 and to Congress in 2010. He has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in accounting from University of Southern Mississippi. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1988, served in the Persian Gulf War during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and continues to serve in the Mississippi Army National Guard.
Issues: Palazzo’s website says he believes in limited government, a strong national defense and conservative solutions for the country. He serves on the House Appropriations Committee, and said he is an advocate of making sound federal investments to protect national defense while cutting mandatory spending that drives deficits and debts.
Mike Ezell is sheriff of Jackson County. He graduated from Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy and obtained a degree in criminal justice from University of Southern Mississippi. He was selected to attend the FBI National Academy and later worked with the FBI on their Safe Streets Task Force. He was elected sheriff in special election in 2014, was re-elected in 2015 with 82% of the vote and ran unopposed in 2019
Issues: Ezell’s website says the sheriff supports law enforcement, protecting the Second Amendment, securing the border and is pro life. He will fight against “socialist spending plans, overburdensome regulations, and job-killing tax hikes,” he said, and will work to bring industry to all parts of South Mississippi.
Brice Wiggins is an attorney in Pascagoula, former prosecutor and state senator. He authored Mississippi’s first early education initiative, the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013, which led to Mississippi being recognized as Top 5 in the country. He authored the “Lonnie Smith Act,” which strengthened Mississippi’s child abuse laws, and “Katie’s Law,” allowing for DNA collection after violent felony arrests. After the BP Oil Spill, he fought to pass the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund to direct hundreds of millions of dollars to the Gulf Coast.
Issues: Among his key issues are to cut taxes and balance the budget. “As a country, we must have a balanced budget amendment,” he said. “It’s the only way to reign in D.C. spending.” He also said he will work to defend the Second Amendment, secure the borders, stand up for law enforcement and fight for criminal justice reform, economic development and make Mississippi relevant in the country and the world.
Clay Wagner retired as senior vice president at Hancock Bank and served as chairman of Gulf Coast Chamber Foundation and Hancock County Chamber, along with the boards of Red Cross and United Way. Wagner said he had no intentions of running for office, but became frustrated that leaders were not stepping up to see Mississippi change for the better.
Issues: Jobs for South Mississippi is his primary concern. “Over taxation and regulation are handcuffing the American people and an economy that wants to thrive,” he said. He also wants to protect conservative freedoms and the border. “Illegal immigration causes a negative ripple effect on the economy, our healthcare system and public safety,” he says.
Carl Boyanton also ran against Palazzo in 2020. He grew up in Pearl River County, moved away to become successful in the fresh produce industry, and then moved back to Diamondhead and opened a small produce stand in the French Market of New Orleans. He grew his business to where at its height, Farmer Fresh Produce employed 100 people.
Issues: Among his top priorities are term limits, with a maximum of 12 years for members of Congress, which he said will get professional politicians out of control of Congress and to push for a balanced budget amendment. He favors building a wall at the southern border, but with entry points to allow immigrants to come in for jobs. He also advocates for eliminating federal departments and shifting those powers back to states.
Raymond Brooks has served as a police officer for nearly 20 years. He joined the Gulfport Police Department in 2001 and graduated at the top of his class at the police academy in academics and physical fitness. He also was assigned as a school resource officer, warrants officer, marine patrol officer, SWAT sniper and NRA patrol rifle instructor.
Issues: Brooks says America should finish the wall for national defense. He also advocates for right to life, Second Amendment rights, law and order, term limits for Congress and national defense. “Our national defense is built right here in South Mississippi, and I will fight to keep our shipbuilding at Ingalls and VT Halter Marine, Inc. going strong,” he said.
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Kidron Peterson was born in Poplarville and continues to live there. He began working as a machinist for C&C Machine during his senior year of high school and has worked there for 22 years, now as a senior machinist. He served in the Army Reserve for eight years
Issues: His focus is on returning control of the education system back to the states, to hold government officials accountable and to make it illegal for foreigners to own American land. “China currently owns over 190,000 acres of farmland in the U.S., which equates to about the size of the state of Mississippi or Pennsylvania,” he said. He also wants to bring back American manufacturing and make healthcare affordable for all.
Democrat Primary
Johnny DuPree was mayor of Hattiesburg from 2001 to 2017. He also ran for governor and secretary of state. He has B.S. and M.S. in political science from University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. in higher education from Jackson State University. He owns and operates Johnny Dupree Realty.
Issues: “I’m running to ensure that every Mississippian has a fair shot at the American Dream, to rebuild our economy, make government more accessible as well as more accountable to the people of our state,” he said.
David Sellers earned a degree in theology from Emory University and said he has dedicated his life to providing spiritual guidance for people in recovery from addiction, trauma and other mental health ailments. He lives in Hattiesburg.
Issues: Rev. Sellers said policies of mass incarceration have failed the country. “It’s long past time to turn to new, evidence-based approaches to justice. we must acknowledge that after 40 years, the war on drugs still doesn’t work. Drug addiction is a disease that should be treated as such. Mental illness is not a crime.” Mississippi has been in the bottom 10 states for education for far too long, he said. He supports the police, raising the minimum wage and paid family and medical leave for all workers.
Libertarian candidate
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Alden Patrick Johnson is a Petal firefighter and EMT and says he stands apart from Republicans and Democrats. He has BA in art and a masters in education from William Carey University.
Issues: Johnson said he believes that insurance companies unnecessarily drive up the cost of healthcare and prescriptions and Primary Direct Care, which benefits the healthcare provider and the patient, should always be an option. On national defense, he said it’s time the Unites States stops trying to police the world and antagonizing other countries. He favors expanding nuclear energy and eliminating the income tax in Mississippi and federally.
Applications for absentee ballots and other information is available through the Secretary of State’s website at vote.org/state/mississippi.
This story was originally published May 15, 2022 at 8:00 AM.
