Grenada County voters will help decide the direction of Mississippi’s representation in Washington when they head to the polls for the March 10 party primaries, choosing nominees for U.S. Senate and the 2nd Congressional District on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
On the Democratic side, three candidates are vying for their party’s U.S. Senate nomination: Scott Colom, Albert R. Littell and Priscilla W. Till. Colom, a seventh-generation Mississippian and district attorney for the 16th Judicial District, has built his campaign around a “Mississippi first” message and a record that includes creating restorative justice programs and alternatives to incarceration for some nonviolent offenses. He made history as the first Black district attorney elected in a majority-white circuit district and has twice been reelected to the post after unseating a 30-year incumbent. Little public information is available about Littell and Till, who are mounting lower-profile challenges for the party’s nomination.
In the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District, longtime U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson faces intraparty opposition from Evan Littleton Turnage and Pertis Herman Williams III. Thompson, first elected in a 1993 special election, is Mississippi’s longest-serving current member of Congress and represents a district that includes much of the Delta and stretches into central Mississippi. A former mayor of Bolton, Thompson has focused on civil rights, education, health care and infrastructure, pushing federal investments for roads, bridges, water and sewer systems in communities that have historically lagged in basic services.
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Republican voters will choose between incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and challenger Sarah Adlakha in the GOP U.S. Senate primary. Hyde-Smith, the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress, was appointed to the Senate in 2018 and later won a special election and a full term. A former state agriculture commissioner and state senator, she has emphasized conservative positions while using her seat on the Senate Appropriations and Agriculture committees to steer funding to agriculture, rural health, transportation, flood control and defense-related projects in the state. Adlakha, a physician and political newcomer, has framed her campaign around health care access and a more moderate brand of Republican politics, arguing the state needs a new voice in Washington.
In the Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District, Ron Eller and Kevin Wilson are competing for the chance to challenge the Democratic nominee in a district that has long favored Thompson. Eller, a physician assistant and military veteran, has previously campaigned on tightening border security and curbing federal spending, while Wilson has stressed small-business issues and conservative social priorities in his bid for the nomination.
The last day to vote in-person absentee is Saturday, March 7. Circuit Clerk’s Offices will be open from 8 a.m. until noon.
All mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, March 10 (Election Day).
Polls will be open March 10, and voters must choose either the Democratic or Republican primary ballot when they check in at their precinct.
