Will Palazzo or Ezell win the runoff? Here’s how MS voted in the close-call primary.
Voters in South Mississippi expected a runoff in the 4th U.S. Congressional Republican primary race that had seven candidates on the ballot, and that runoff will come in three weeks on June 28.
What may have been a shock, though, was that incumbent Steven Palazzo would see such fierce competition from Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell and retired Hancock County businessman Clay Wagner.
Palazzo took the lead early and came out on top, but with a much smaller percentage of the vote than in the 2020 election.
In 2020 he beat the other three challengers with 67% of the vote.
On Tuesday night he took 32% of the vote, forcing a runoff.
Wagner, who finished a close third, thanked the 11,000 people who voted for him and endorsed Ezell. Together their votes would be enough to upset and unseat Palazzo, who was elected to the U.S. Congress in 2010 and is seeking a seventh term.
Yet that’s not a given. Considering the dismal turnout Tuesday, with many precincts getting less than 10% of the voters out to cast a ballot, it will all depend on which candidate can entice more voters back for the runoff.
The candidates will have a busy three weeks of campaigning.
A close call
It was a back and forth contest all Tuesday night, with Palazzo holding a 5% lead through most of the night and Ezell and Wagner separated by fewer than 100 votes at one point.
At about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday and with 66% of the vote counted, Palazzo was at 32%. Wagner at 26% and Ezell at 20%.
Five minutes later, Jackson County votes were added to the Associated Press count and Ezell took the lead. Jackson County voters went all-in for their sheriff, giving Ezell 39% of the vote at that point. State Sen. Brice Wiggins took another 18.5% of the vote in his home county. Palazzo had 22% and Wagner 11%.
At 9:40 p.m., AP called Palazzo in a runoff with 32% of the vote, but his challenger was still unknown.
The night ended with Ezell 3% ahead of Wagner. AP announced Wednesday afternoon with 99% of the vote in that Ezell will face Palazzo in the runoff.
Ezell said in a statement Wednesday morning: “Yesterday, two-thirds of Republicans in the 4th Congressional District voted for a new person to represent us in Congress. That’s why I’m excited about moving into the runoff election because we know there’s a lot of momentum with a big majority of voters who want a change.”
How South MS voted
Total votes of the top candidates were:
Palazzo — 16,079 votes
Ezell —12,808
Wagner — 11,209
Wiggins — 4,781
Carl Boyanton — 3,179
Raymond Brooks — 2,346
Kidron Peterson — 454
The election results won’t be certified for a few days.
Run-off preview
The incumbent and top vote-getter generally has a stronger chance of winning a runoff election, but that is never a given when voter turnout is so low.
Palazzo sits on the House Committee on Appropriations that is responsible for how the federal dollars are spent. But he also is under an ethics investigation for his use of campaign funds.
His campaign manager Justin Brasell said in a statement the focus of his reelection bid will remain the same over the next three weeks.
“We have a proven leader who stands up to the radical left in Washington and who’s the ranking Republican on the committee funding border wall construction,” Brasell said. “Steven Palazzo was instrumental in funding the border wall under President Trump, and once Republicans win a majority this fall, he will again be instrumental in getting that important work underway once more.”
Ezell laid out his strategy for the runoff in a press release Wednesday.
“The issues are serious, the stakes are high and we now have a clear choice about who can best represent South Mississippi in Congress,” Ezell said. “Now more than ever, we need someone with firsthand law enforcement experience in Congress.”
Ezell said there is a big difference in candidates. “Over these next three weeks, I’ll be working as hard as I can to earn your vote in the June 28 runoff, because I’m the candidate who will show up, speak up and stand up for our conservative values — every day.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 1:35 PM.
