Old guard strikes back as January 6 chief thrashes 34-year-old Democratic upstart

A top congressional Democrat easily defeated an upstart millennial challenger, a rebuke to the narrative that progressive voters across the country are looking for a new generation of leadership in their political party.

Mississippi Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, 78, is on the glidepath for another term in the House of Representatives after trouncing Evan Turnage, 34, who has been alive as long as Thompson has been in office.

The Associated Press called the race shortly before 10 pm eastern time.

Thompson first came onto the political scene as an activist in the then-segregated South, in his home state of Mississippi.

During his time in Congress, he served twice as chairman of the powerful Homeland Security Committee, both from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023.

Thompson was also the chairman of the temporary committee that investigated the January 6th, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

A year after the January 2021 incident, Thompson characterized it in 2022 as the 'culmination of an attempted coup.'

Turnage had argued that the incumbent had not done enough to address black poverty in the district.

Bennie Thompson, right, speaks as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, left, listens during a hearing on the 5th anniversary of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Democrat Evan Turnage, who challenged incumbent Bennie Thompson, in the March primary

'People in this district are ready for change,' Turnage told MS NOW.

'This is the poorest district in the poorest state in the country, and it's been like that for my entire life. People want better,' he added.

But the voters felt otherwise as Thompson's double-digit thrashing demonstrated.

The race seems to fit into a broader conversation about generational change in the Democratic Party, and how not all Democratic voters will automatically gravitate towards a younger candidate.

Just last week, Democratic newcomer Christian Menefee, 37, bested Al Green, 78, in a member-on-member primary after Texas' mid-decade redistricting forced two incumbents to compete head-to-head in a primary. The two will also face off in their own runoff on May 26.

Menefee was only elected to the House earlier last month, in a special election to fill the seat previously held by Sylvester Turner, who passed away in 2025.

Back in Mississippi, incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, backed by Trump, faced physician Sarah Adlakha in the primary. Hyde-Smith is heading to the November general election after garnering over 80 percent of the vote on Tuesday, per NBC's Decision Desk.

Trump had also endorsed all three incumbent House Republicans running for re-election in the state, who are all heading to the November general.