Mississippi voters will elect candidates to represent the Republican and Democratic parties in the primaries on Tuesday, March 12, including candidates for the U.S. Senate seat incumbent Sen. Roger Wicker currently holds.
Use this guide to learn more about the candidates’ backgrounds and policy views.
Why this office is important: The U.S. Senate is one of the two bodies in Congress with the power to pass federal laws. It has the sole responsibility to conduct impeachment trials of high-ranking federal officials. It gives advice and consent on treaties and can help confirm or deny certain appointments like ambassadors, federal agency leaders and federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court justices.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, Republican incumbent
Background: U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker is a Pontotoc, Miss., native and a University of Mississippi graduate. He served in the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was a Mississippi state senator for seven years and served as a U.S. House representative for Mississippi’s first congressional district for 12 years. He began his first term as a U.S. senator when then-Gov. Haley Barbour appointed him in 2007.
Wicker recently voted in favor of a $95 billion aid package that would have given $60 billion to help Ukraine fight Russia’s invasion, $14 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid and about $5 billion for Taiwan and Indo-Pacific partners.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker is the incumbent Republican incumbent running for reelection in the primary on March 12, 2024. Photo courtesy Roger Wicker
After voting for all of former President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominees, the senator disapproved of President Joe Biden’s choice to nominate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court and voted against confirming her to the nation’s highest court. He said he feared Jackson would “restrict religious freedom when it comes to same-sex marriage.” In 2022, Wicker voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which federally protects same-sex marriage rights.
Wicker voted against convicting former President Trump during both impeachment trials, including for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, and blocked a bill that would create an independent commission
Read original article by clicking here.