Three states begin 2026 midterm elections with primaries
Voters in Texas, Arkansas and North Carolina will head to the polls to decide the Republican and Democratic candidates for November’s congressional elections.
Results were announced after a busy election day in Mississippi.
Democratic and Republican voters cast their ballots on Tuesday, March 10, in the Congressional primaries that will determine which candidates will appear on the ballot in the November 2026 midterm elections. This campaign has the potential to make waves nationwide. Republicans hold onto Congress with fewer and fewer seats, and positions in the House and Senate are up for grabs in Mississippi.
Here are the results so far and what they mean for November’s midterm exams.
Why is this primary happening?
In the primary, voters choose candidates who will go to Washington in November to represent Mississippi.
There are many names mentioned among them. One of the state’s two U.S. Senate seats is up for re-election, and a flip could further shift the balance of power in the chamber. Mississippi voters are also choosing candidates from a statewide roster for the U.S. House of Representatives, where President Trump’s agenda for his second term will hinge on the political balance.
Voters also don’t have to follow party lines. Mississippi law requires open primaries, in which registered voters vote for the candidate they believe is best qualified to run, regardless of party affiliation.
Crowded House primaries
All four of Mississippi’s congressional districts are up for re-election. The red-majority state has only one Democratic incumbent, Bennie Thompson.
Here are the election results as of Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press and CNN:
District 1
- Democratic Party: Cliff Johnson, a professor at the MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law, won with 63.6%, according to the Associated Press and CNN.
- Republican: Incumbent Congressman Trent Kelly won unopposed.
district 2
- Democratic Party: Incumbent Congressman Bennie Thompson won with 86.2%, according to the Associated Press and CNN.
- Republican: As of 6 a.m. ET Wednesday, the winner of the race had not yet been announced, the Associated Press and CNN reported. Ron Eller received 50.9% of the vote and Adams County Supervisor Kevin Wilson received 49.1%.
district 3
- Democratic Party: Michael Chiaradio, a former baseball player, farmer and entrepreneur, ran to victory.
- Republican: Incumbent Congressman Michael Guest also won an uncontested race.
district 4
Incumbent Republicans are the focus of the Senate race
Incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith won Mississippi’s Republican Senate primary with 80.8% of the vote, according to the Associated Press and CNN. Hyde-Smith is the first woman to represent Washington and has the support of Trump.
She defeated doctor and author Sarah Adlaha, who received 19.2% of the vote.
In the Democratic race, the Associated Press and CNN reported that District Attorney Scott Colom won with 73.1%. He defeated Albert Rittell, a former U.S. Marine, and Priscilla W. Till, cousin of lynching victim Emmett Till.
Why the March primaries are important
Autumn may seem far away. But in the world of elections, it will happen sooner or later. Mississippi’s primary elections are gearing up for a good fight in November. If the U.S. Senate seat held by Hyde-Smith were to turn blue, the Republican majority in the chamber would be severely disrupted. For the House side, further intervention by Democrats would represent a significant threat to Capitol Hill’s ability to push President Trump’s policies across the finish line.
