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The candidates qualified by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline with political parties and the Mississippi Secretary of State's office.
Childers, a businessman and former chancery clerk, first won the seat in the spring of 2008 during a special election to fill the vacancy left by the Senate appointment of Roger Wicker of Tupelo.
Childers won a full two-year term in November 2008.
While the three Republican candidates have been known for several months, the independents include a man who ran against Childers in the special election and a plumber.
They are:
- A.G. Baddley, 52, of Hernando
- Les Green, age unavailable, of Hernando
- Wally Pang, 68, of Batesville
- Rick "Rico" Hoskins, 36, of Batesville
Childers will defend his record of 21/2 years in the U.S. House when he faces the GOP nominee, Giaramita and the four independents in the Nov. 2 general election.
The three Republicans, who will fight for their party's nomination June 1, are former Fox News commentator Angela McGlowan of Oxford, state Sen. Alan Nunnelee of Tupelo and former Eupora Mayor Henry Ross.
Other party candidates are:
• Gail Giaramita of Lake Cormorant, Constitution Party
• Harold M. Taylor of Hernando, Libertarian Party
• Barbara Dale Washer of Hattiesburg, Reform Party
House candidates are not required to live in the district they run in.
Pang ran in the 2008 special election. This year the retired restaurateur says he's advocating a limit of two terms for every member of Congress.
Baddley, an electrician, says he's a "true American" independent and doesn't think much of elected Democrats or Republicans. He says his main campaign focus will be on job creation and figuring out how to funnel more money into new-jobs training.
Hoskins, who describes himself as a "fourth-generation plumber," says his candidacy is a response to people coming to him and asking for help.
Efforts to contact Green and Giaramita for comment were unsuccessful Monday. Contact information on the others was not available until Tuesday.
In the state's other three House races, all incumbents have challengers.
The 2nd District has three Republicans and Democratic incumbent Bennie Thompson.
The 3rd District has three Democrats and Republican incumbent Gregg Harper.
The 4th District has two Republicans and Democratic incumbent Gene Taylor.
Also on the Nov. 2 ballot will be judicial candidates from circuit and chancery courts to the state Supreme Court. Their qualifying deadline is May 7.
Contact Patsy R. Brumfield at (662) 678-1596 or patsy.brumfield@djournal.com.