JACKSON (AP) — Gregg Harper defeated Charlie Ross in the Republican runoff and set himself up for a likely victory in November over Democrat Joel Gill, who is running a low-budget campaign.

The general election winner will succeed Republican Rep. Chip Pickering, who was first elected in 1996 and chose not to run this year.

‘‘We’re not taking anything for granted,’’ Harper said from his victory party Tuesday night in Jackson. ‘‘We’re going to work hard. What we did, we didn’t do by ourselves to get the nomination. We had the best group of volunteers I’ve seen in the 30 years I’ve been involved in politics.’’