Mississippi has officially re-elected Republican Tate Reeves as governor, beating out Democrat Brandon Presley.
Many speculated this would be a competitive race. Mississippi is a notorious red state, but some thought that Presley could flip the state blue. It has been two decades since Mississippi had a Democratic governor.
The election results did not surprise USM junior Mason Migues, who voted for Presley. “I honestly wasn’t surprised. It was very close, but I think that there are alot of Mississippians who just vote for their party rather than their candidates actually, like, are doing,” she said.
Despite the results of this election, she remains optimistic that Mississippi will turn blue some day. “Mississippi has a new age of people who are able to vote. I think that my generation is very well-informed and well-articulated in politics…”
By contrast, the results shocked USM student Mary-Margaret Duggan. Duggan voted for Presley and all other Democratic candidates. Despite this, she was happy to see more young people voting.
“It’s pretty much the only voice that we get to have sometimes,” she said. “If we’re not voting…we’re giving our rights into other people’s hands.”
Reeves began his first term as governor in 2020, but has served in state government for decades as state treasurer and later lieutenant governor. During his campaign this year, he highlighted the positive changes he made for Mississippi. He passed the largest tax cut in state history, increased teacher pay, lowered unemployment and more.
His rival, Brandon Presley, worked on the Mississippi Public Service Commission and was mayor of Nettleton, a small town in North Mississippi. Some of Presley’s key issues were expanding Medicaid, cutting the grocery tax and rooting out corruption.
Presley’s anti-corruption stance is partly a response to Reeves’ involvement in the welfare scandal. Reeves was Lt. Governor when millions in state welfare funds were embezzled. Authorities neither accused nor charged Reeves of being involved in the crime.
Presley also criticized Reeves for not supporting Medicaid expansion, which could create thousands of jobs, provide healthcare to 300,000 Mississippians and support struggling hospitals.
This election only had one debate on Nov, 1. During the debate, Presley and Reeves debated key issues such as healthcare, education, jobs and more.
A few days later on election night, several precincts in Hinds County ran out of ballots, disrupting many people’s ability to vote. Mississippi’s Secretary of State Michael Watson attributed the issue to redistricting.
Several other seats in the state government were up for election this year. Republicans swept all of them, including the Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasure, and State Auditor.
In his victory speech, Reeves celebrated his win as defeating the influence of national Democrats. He stated that his next focus is boosting the economy, helping hospitals without expanding Medicaid and eliminating the state income tax.
Presley hinted on Facebook that this is not the end of his political ambitions. “The fight continues and the work to build a better state doesn’t stop with one election. Onward and upward!”
