Congressman Mike Ezell (left) speaks at a National Police Week event alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson (right) in May 2026. (Photo from Ezell's Facebook page)
- The incumbent Republican Congressman’s campaign told the Federal Election Commission Tuesday that the independent candidate is making false allegations to the federal agency, which is illegal.
Congressman Mike Ezell’s campaign has filed a response to the Federal Election Commission outlining facts they say demonstrate that the incumbent’s campaign is in full compliance with the law.
The response comes after perennial 4th Congressional District candidate Carl Boyanton filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that Congressman Ezell received illegal campaign contributions.
READ MORE: Boyanton swipes at Ezell over campaign contributions. Ezell’s camp calls it “a political stunt”
Ezell’s campaign called Boyanton’s complaint fraudulent, and said the independent candidate is making false allegations against the Republican Congressman.
“Carl Boyanton thinks he can pull a political stunt using false and reckless allegations against Congressman Ezell without any repercussions. He is wrong,” said Josh Gregory, spokesman for Congressman Mike Ezell’s Campaign. “It is illegal to make false statements to a federal agency, including the Federal Election Commission, and that’s exactly what he did.”
Gregory said Ezell’s campaign is “very confident” the FEC’s Office of the Inspector General will handle the matter.
Spencer Ritchie, legal counsel for the Ezell campaign, also addressed Boyanton’s claims “and his abuse of the compliant process.”
“These allegations are entirely baseless. But Mr. Boyanton’s Complaint goes beyond a simple misunderstanding; he has abused the FEC Complaint process by knowingly and/or willfully making these false allegations, ” Ritchie said. “The upcoming midterm election marks the fourth consecutive election in which Mr. Boyanton has been a candidate for federal office. He is no novice. Nor is it the first time that he has sought to harass Mr. Ezell by filing a baseless FEC complaint against the Committee. Based on this, he either knew, or should have known, that his allegations were utterly without support, both in fact and in law.”
Ritchie’s letter to the FEC’s Office of the Inspector General says “simple math” shows the falsity of Boyanton’s claims, further stating that the challenger double-counted contributions to arrive at an erroneous number.
As previously reported, Boyanton claims that Ezell received $217,000 in illegal campaign contributions tied to defense contractors that received a $951 million Coast Guard contract. The complaint filed in June centers on members of the Chouest family, owners of defense contractors Edison Chouest Offshore and Bollinger Shipyards.
Boyanton took to social media Tuesday stating, “Corruption in Mississippi politics isn’t something new.”
“I became an independent because the party system rewards corrupt politicians. Both parties will support anyone if they think they can win. This is so normal now that I had someone tell me ‘they are all corrupt’ so who cares,” Boyanton wrote. “It’s a shame that we have become so indoctrinated by the parties that we will vote for corruption and are ok with billionaires buying our politicians.”
Boyanton has run unsuccessfully for the 4th Congressional District every two years since 2020, this time as an independent candidate. Boyanton previously ran as a Republican in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
Boyanton lost to former Congressman Steven Palazzo (R) in a four-man GOP primary in 2020, coming in last with just over 9% of the vote. In 2022, Palazzo faced six challengers in the Republican Primary, of which Boyanton was one. Boyanton finished fifth with nearly 5% of the vote. He went on to endorse Ezell in the runoff against Palazzo where Ezell won. Boyanton then ran against Ezell in 2024, coming in second in a three-man GOP primary and pulling in nearly 19% of the vote.
Ezell and Boyanton will meet on the November 3 General Election ballot along with Democrat State Rep. Jeffrey Hulum.
The letters to the Federal Election Commission from Ezell’s campaign are shown below.
