Photo by Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarSela Ward reacts as husband Howard Sherman goes ahead the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. 

Democratic Senate candidate Howard Sherman, a Lauderdale County resident, celebrated a victory of sorts on Tuesday night, qualifying for a runoff in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate against State Rep. David Baria of Bay St. Louis.

“Its a huge win,” Sherman said. “I brought a new message… and a new way to get from the bottom of all this. I think what the state is saying is, ‘Hey, bring it on.’”

Six Democrats ran for the U.S. Senate seat and Sherman and Baria will face off for the nomination on June 26. Sherman, a venture capitalist from California, is the husband of actress Sela Ward, a Meridian native.

Baria is an attorney and served one state Senate term before being elected in 2011 to the Republican-led Mississippi House, where he’s now the Democratic leader.

GOP 3rd Congressional District contenders Michael Guest and Whit Hughes are also headed to a June 26 runoff.

Guest, the chief prosecutor in the Jackson suburbs of Madison and Rankin counties, and Hughes, a fundraiser for a Baptist hospital system, led four other candidates Tuesday, with no one winning a majority.

The district has been represented for 10 years by retiring Republican Gregg Harper.

Hughes and Guest were the top two fundraisers, with Hughes raising $430,000 and Guest raising $400,000.

The winner of the June 26 runoff faces Democratic state Rep. Michael Ted Evans of Preston and Reform Party member Matthew Holland of Hattiesburg in November. 

The winner of the June 26 Democratic Senate runoff will face GOP Sen. Roger Wicker, who easily defeated challenger Richard Boyanton of Diamondhead in the primary.

Wicker was endorsed by President Donald Trump and the same day Trump tweeted that Wicker “has my total support!”

Wicker served nearly 13 years in the U.S. House before then-Gov. Haley Barbour appointed him to the Senate in late 2007 when fellow Republican Trent Lott resigned.

Mississippi is heavily Republican; it last had a Democrat in the Senate in 1989, when John C. Stennis retired.

On Tuesday, Wicker told The Associated Press: “It does seem based on statements coming from the various Democratic campaigns that opposition to the Trump agenda will be front and center in their emphasis. I don’t think that sounds like a winner in Mississippi.

Associated Press reporters Emily Wagster Pettus and Jeff Amy contributed to this report.