Mike Ezell

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) — U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., the incumbent in the race for Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District, discussed several campaign issues, including inflation and federal spending.

Ezell said he has spent recent weeks campaigning across South Mississippi.

“We’ve been getting out, meeting people, talking to them, shaking hands, and doing all the things you do when you’re running for office, which, you know, in this congressional seat, it’s every two years. So it’s nonstop. We’re always on the go.”

Ezell said many voters have raised concerns about the rising cost of gas and food.

“Everybody’s concerned about the price of gas, a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread,” Ezell said. “And our answer is we’re working hard, bringing back opportunities for Congress to get involved.”

Ezell said he has also worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on flood insurance costs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“It’s high. It’s expensive to buy flood insurance here. We’ve worked hard to get these FEMA flood maps in place so that we can get some relief for our homeowners, lower taxes,” Ezell said.

He also addressed the conflict in Iran and its connection to gas prices.

“It’s very unfortunate what has happened over there in Iran, but what I’ve got to say is we cannot allow these people to have a nuclear weapon,” Ezell said. “They would fire that thing off the very first day if they had the opportunity to. They hate America. They just killed between 30,000 and 40,000 of their own people. So we’ve got to stand up to these bad actors and take every measure that we can to stop them from doing those things.”

Ezell was asked about the national debt, which has surpassed $40 trillion. He said both parties have contributed to spending.

“But what I will say is that over 60% of the budget is mandatory spending. We’ve got to support the military. We’ve got to support protecting our borders. We’ve got to do the things that have to be done.”

Ezell pointed to tax cuts as a step toward addressing spending.

“One of the things that the president and the Republican Party has done is tax cuts, which helps everybody,” Ezell said. “Tax cuts have been something that Republicans have stood on for years. Not more government, but less government to try to do the things that will spur economic development, entrepreneurship, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

Ezell, the former Jackson County sheriff, said he has been active across the district.

“People know me. I’ve been a sheriff. I’ve been a law enforcement officer. They know who I am. They know what I stand for.”

Ezell criticized the Democratic Party on several issues, including voter ID and immigration.

“The Democrat Party is the party of crazy,” Ezell said. “They want to let men in women’s sports. They want to let things go on in the community that we would never allow. Who would have ever dreamed that they fight us on voter ID? You have to show your ID everywhere you go. Why is it so wrong with showing your ID when you go to vote?”

When asked about national polling showing Republicans could lose control of the House, Ezell said the polls can only show so much.

“I don’t know that I believe all of that,” Ezell said. “We have seen it over the presidential election with Trump. We’ve seen it with various other elections in time. I don’t always buy into these polls because a lot of times they’re skewed the way they ask the questions. So we’ll see what happens. What’s most important on election night is votes.”

Also on the ballot for the 4th District seat are Democrat Jeffrey Hulum and Independent Carl Boyanton. WLOX has interviewed the other candidates.

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