Sun Herald: Here’s how big Mike Ezell won South Mississippi’s Congressional race Tuesday night

Sheriff Mike Ezell stood before a room full of his family and supporters and declared he’d won the race for the 4th Congressional District. Moments later, the Associated Press called the race in his favor.

On Jan. 3 he will be sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for South Mississippi.

The turnout was stronger than expected, and Ezell and his team watched and waited as one county after another voted for him in what turned out to be a landslide over Democratic challenger Johnny DuPree, former Hattiesburg mayor.

With 99 percent of the vote in, Ezell had 122,128 votes to DuPree’s 39,292 votes.

“I’m so grateful to the people in this district who have entrusted me the opportunity to serve as a Congressman,” Ezelll said, and he pledged to be available and accountable for every citizen, regardless of who they voted for.

Ezell defeated incumbent Steven Palazzo in the primary runoff June 28. Palazzo was elected in 2010 and was seeking a seventh term in the U.S. Congress. Ezell has served as Jackson County sheriff since 2014.

“It’s been a joy serving the citizens of Jackson County,” he said. “That’s all I’ve done. My whole life has been a policeman.”

He told the crowd, “We all know what’s going on up there in Washington,” and said. “I believe with prayers and support we’ll be ready for the challenge.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR EZELL?

After 18 months of “hard campaigning,” Ezell, 63, now has less than two months to make the transition from Jackson County sheriff and candidate to Congressman Ezell.

“I’m so glad that this night has finally arrived,” he said at 7 p.m. as the polls closed and he waited at the Magnolia Ballroom for the results to come in.

He plans to return to the sheriff’s office and said next week he’ll be in Washington, D.C. for orientation.

It’s a bit intimidating, he said.

“There’s a lot a lot of horsepower out there in Washington,” he said, but he pledges he will be answerable to the people of Mississippi who voted for him.

“I’ll do my best as I’ve done for the last 42 years of my life as a law enforcement officer and the last eight years as sheriff,” he said.

During Palazzo’s 12 years in Congress, he frequently was criticized for not communicating with his constituents.

Ezell said his staff has started talking about how he will communicate on a weekly basis, he said, and possibly hold town halls.

“If you ask for a job like this,” he said, “you’ve got to be responsible to the people that put you there. So yes, you gotta take the good with the bad.”

HIS PRIORITIES IN D.C.

Ezell, who has 42 years of experience as a law enforcement officer and got his criminal justice degree while working full-time as a police officer, says he is most concerned about the push to defund the police that is going on around the country.

He’s got other priorities.

“I’m very concerned about security at the border,” he said. He also wants to make sure that the elderly who made the country great are taken care of, he said, and that the country instills good moral beliefs in kids. People in South Mississippi are concerned with continued supply chain issues, he said, the prices at the grocery store and gas station, the shortages of diesel fuel and the spending in Washington.

“I’m ready to go to work,” he said.

HOW EZELL GOT ELECTED

Ezell entered the race with five other Republican candidates trying to unseat Palazzo. Those candidates participated in several debates before the primary, while Palazzo stayed away.

Palazzo managed to draw 32% of the primary vote while the other six candidates collectively took 68%.

Ezell was at the top of the challengers with 25% of the vote and Clay Wagner was a close third with 22%.

What Palazzo said he didn’t count on was those other five candidates who finished behind Ezell all throwing their support to the sheriff rather than to the incumbent.

Ezell took 54% of the vote in the primary runoff to Palazzo’s 46%, sweeping the three Coast counties and practically guaranteeing his win in a largely Republican district.

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