Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves wins 2nd term, defeating Democrat Brandon Presley
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has won a second term. He defeated Democrat Brandon Presley on Tuesday. Republicans have held the governorship for the past 20 years in Mississippi.
The governor gave a victory speech Tuesday night following a concession speech from Presley. Reeves told voters that Mississippi has momentum with job creation and improvements in public education.
The race was viewed as “surprisingly competitive,” with an October poll from the Democratic Governors Association showing Presley only one point behind Reeves.
In a final push for Reeves, Former President Donald Trump released a one-minute video at the beginning of November urging Mississippians to re-elect the Republican governor while painting Presley as Joe Biden’s candidate.
This will be Reeves’ second term as governor after previously serving two terms as lieutenant governor under Phil Bryant. Reeves first won the governorship in 2019 when he faced off against former Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.
He would win that race with 52% of the vote compared to Hood’s 47%.
If Reeves had suffered a defeat this year, it would have made him the first governor since Ronnie Musgrove in 2004 to serve only one term as Mississippi’s governor. Musgrove was also the last Democrat to serve as governor of the state.
Brandon Presley, the second cousin of Elvis Presley, put up a strong fight in his bid for governor, raising over $11 million and giving Mississippi Democrats strong hope for a rare win.
Presley is the former mayor of Nettleton, Mississippi, and has served four terms as a state utility regulator.
Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.
Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved.
