Ezell unseats Palazzo, Guest fends off Cassidy in Mississippi midterm runoffs

by Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender, Mississippi Today
June 28, 2022

U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, representing Mississippi's 4th District, became the first incumbent congressman to lose in a party primary in recent state history when he was defeated Tuesday by Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell in the Republican primary runoff.

Another incumbent congressman, Michael Guest of the 3rd District in central Mississippi, easily survived a runoff challenge from former Navy pilot Michael Cassidy in the Republican primary.

In the west Mississippi 2nd District runoff Tuesday, Brian Flowers defeated Ronald Eller and will run in the November election against incumbent Democrat Bennie Thompson, the state's only African American U.S. House member. 

Incumbents Guest and Palazzo were forced to runoff elections because neither garnered a majority vote in the first primary earlier this month.

Guest, a former district attorney representing Madison and Rankin counties in suburban Jackson, actually trailed Cassidy, a campaign novice, in the first primary vote.

But in the runoff, the Republican establishment and the Guest campaign, which apparently had underestimated Cassidy, waged an intensive campaign, easily outdistancing Cassidy. Late Tuesday with results still coming in, Guest had a commanding 67% to 33% lead over Cassidy.

Palazzo did not have similar success in the runoff. In late results, Ezell had a 54% to 46% lead over the incumbent.

The Associated Press called both races late Tuesday.

Ezell in his campaign had hit Palazzo on a long-running complaint the 12-year incumbent has faced: That he is inaccessible to constituents and often absent from the district or in Congress. Palazzo also has been under a House ethics investigation over allegations he used campaign and congressional funds for personal expenses.

In 2010 Palazzo was a member of the state House representing Harrison County when he was a surprise candidate against incumbent Democratic Congressman Gene Taylor. Most gave Palazzo little chance of upending the long-time incubent Taylor, viewed as a fixture in Gulf Coast politics.

But Palazzo took advantage of the historic Republican wave in 2010 to upset Taylor.

Palazzo's loss appears to be the first time an incumbent U.S. House member has lost a party primary election in Mississippi since 1962. In that year incumbent Jamie Whitten defeated fellow incumbent Frank Smith in the Democratic primary after they were placed in the same district after Mississippi lost a House seat.

In the 3rd District, Cassidy ran as a Donald Trump conservative, but Guest attacked his conservative principals in late campaign ads. Cassidy, a Lauderdale County resident, had touted on his campaign web page various social spending programs, such as a universal health care proposal. Cassidy later renounced those programs, but not before giving Guest campaign fodder.

Cassidy attacked Guest as a “Republican in name only” and for voting for the proposed Jan. 6 Commission to investigate the attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Trump opposed the commission.

In the November general election, Guest will face Democrat Shuwaski Young. Ezell will face Democrat Johnny DuPree and Libertarian Alden Johnson.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.