Mississippi governor’s race: Popularity problems and campaign cash

(NewsNation) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves’ bid for a second term will be at the top of the state’s Tuesday ballot as he faces a significant challenge from Democrat Brandon Presley.

Reeves was first elected in 2019 after serving two terms as lieutenant governor. He won with 52% of the vote, a surprisingly small margin in what is considered a Republican-held state.

Presley is a state utility regulator and cousin of rock ’n’ roll legend Elvis Presley.

Mississippi has not elected a Democratic governor since 2000, but the incumbent is facing a popularity problem with no widespread cross-partisan support.

This is also the first time in several election cycles that a Democratic candidate is neck-and-neck with the incumbent Republican in terms of campaign spending. Together, Reeves and Presley have spent over $10 million to date.

Reeves and Presley exchanged jabs during an intense debate Wednesday night, presenting sharply contrasting plans for the state.

Reeves said Presley has taken questionable campaign contributions from “solar panel buddies … that have tried to run the oil business out of America.”

Presley said the contributions he received were legal but state government “is bought and sold to the highest bidder” under Reeves, with the governor demanding campaign money before meeting with people.

Despite their stark differences, Reeves and Presley both support the state’s sweeping abortion ban, leaving some Democratic voters torn over whether to vote for a “pro-life” candidate.

Presley’s war chest is largely thanks to contributions from the National Democratic Governor’s Association, who see an opportunity to flip a governor’s seat. They contributed nearly $7 million to his campaign. Meanwhile, the Republican Governor’s Association gave Reeves $1.9 million when he was first running.

“The RGA hasn’t had to financially prop up or support Tate Reeves like the DGA has done with Brandon Presley because Tate had already raised $6 million to $7 million on his own,” said Austin Barbour, a Mississippi-based national Republican strategist. “Such is the life of a Democrat in Mississippi these days, they have to have all that outside support propping them up because they don’t have the support here.”

Meanwhile, due to a recent change to the state constitution, candidates must win a majority vote in the general election to avoid a runoff, which could happen this year because of independent candidate Gwendolyn Gray. Gray dropped out of the race and endorsed Presley in October, but announced it too late to be removed from the ballot.