politics • Dec. 18, 2025

Young Democrat launches primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson in Mississippi

A 33-year-old antitrust lawyer and former senior counsel to top Democratic leaders has launched a Democratic primary challenge against long-serving U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District, signaling a generational shift and internal party debate ahead of the 2026 elections.

Evan Turnage, a 33-year-old Yale-educated antitrust attorney with a résumé that includes serving as chief counsel to then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and senior counsel to Senator Elizabeth Warren, has officially launched a Democratic primary challenge against longtime U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District, a move that underscores a growing generational and ideological shift within the Democratic Party as it prepares for the 2026 midterm elections and debates over strategy following the 2024 election; Turnage’s announcement comes at a moment when younger Democrats are increasingly willing to challenge established party leaders, arguing that the party must evolve beyond its traditional playbook to confront modern issues like Big Tech regulation, social media influence, the rise of artificial intelligence, and persistent economic inequality that disproportionately affects communities in districts like Mississippi’s 2nd, which stretches along the Mississippi River from the Delta through the state capital of Jackson and has been a Democratic stronghold for decades despite Mississippi’s overall Republican lean, and though Thompson, a civil-rights leader who has represented the district for more than 30 years and previously chaired the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and now serves as a ranking member on the House Committee on Homeland Security, remains confident that his record and deep ties to the district will carry him through another election, Turnage is positioning himself as part of a wave of younger Democrats who believe that new leadership and fresh policy perspectives are necessary to energize the party’s base and address pressing economic and political challenges; Turnage has emphasized that “the same old playbook from the ’90s isn’t going to work anymore,” articulating a vision that focuses on creating economic opportunities in a district that has struggled with persistent poverty and population loss, advocating for political reforms, tighter antitrust enforcement, consumer protections, and policies aimed at reversing the Magnolia State’s long-running brain drain as part of what he calls a “come home agenda” to incentivize young talent to stay in or return to Mississippi, and he has pledged to reject corporate PAC money, support a ban on stock trading by members of Congress, and champion tighter campaign-finance rules to rebuild public trust in government institutions; Turnage’s challenge highlights substantive policy differences within the Democratic Party as well, since Thompson has built his influence through decades of seniority, leveraging institutional experience to deliver for his constituents while also navigating complex legislative battles on issues ranging from homeland security to voting rights, and though his critics within the party sometimes characterize his approach as too pragmatic or too comfortable within the Washington establishment, his supporters point to his leadership roles and legislative accomplishments as evidence of his effectiveness and argue that continuity and experience matter in a district seeking federal resources and attention, with Thompson himself stating in response to Turnage’s challenge that “elections were created to give people the ability to make a choice” and expressing trust that voters will evaluate his decades-long service record when they go to the polls; the history of competition in the district’s Democratic primaries shows that meaningful challenges to Thompson have been rare — the last notable one being in 2012 when former Greenville Mayor Heather McTeer Toney ran against him — but this contest could prove to be a bellwether for broader trends within the party as Democrats assess how best to balance the priorities of established leaders with the energy and ideas of emerging voices, and though the district remains reliably Democratic in a state dominated by Republicans, the dynamics of the primary have attracted attention from political observers who see in Turnage’s campaign not just a local intraparty contest but a reflection of national debates over the future direction of the Democratic Party, particularly around issues of economic equity, corporate influence, and how to appeal to younger and more diverse constituencies; with additional candidates in both the Democratic and Republican fields — including Republican Ron Eller, who previously ran against Thompson — voters in Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District will head to the polls on March 10, 2026, to decide who will carry the Democratic torch into the general election, setting up what promises to be a closely watched primary that encapsulates both the enduring influence of a seasoned incumbent and the rising ambitions of a new generation of Democratic leaders..