This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.
- Eller will face longtime incumbent Congressman Bennie Thompson, the odds-on favorite in a district that has supported him since 1993, in the General Election.
Ron Eller is the Republican nominee in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District heading into the November General Election.
The AP called the runoff election just after 8 p.m. with under 20% of precincts reporting.
With 30% of precincts reporting, Eller was running at 77% to Andrew Scott Smith’s 23% in Tuesday’s Republican Primary Runoff.
The new 2nd District GOP nominee is a retired U.S. Army Captain who is now a business owner and a cardiothoracic physician assistant.
Two years ago, Eller lost in the 2022 Republican Primary Runoff to Brian Flowers by 16% after coming in second with 32% in the initial midterm GOP primary.
Flowers had endorsed Smith in Tuesday’s runoff.
Eller will face longtime incumbent Congressman Bennie Thompson, the odds-on favorite in a district that has supported him since 1993, in the General Election.
Thompson is the longest-serving black elected official in the State of Mississippi and the lone Democrat in the Mississippi Congressional Delegation. He was at the center of the efforts to investigate the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot having been appointed to chair the House Select Committee by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In 2022, Flowers was able to pull within nearly 20% of Thompson, drawing just under 40% of the General Election total. It was the closest General Election for Thompson in nearly 20 years.
Congressman Thompson’s campaign is sitting on nearly $1.7 million dollars cash on hand while Eller’s last report showed zero cash on hand.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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