In Mississippi, a firmly red state, one of the most important elections took place this Tuesday, November 7, between the current Republican governor, Tate Reeves, and the Democratic candidate, Brandon Presley, cousin of the rock legend Elvis Presley.
While polls showed a potentially close election, Republicans consolidated their dominance in the state with a resounding victory for Reeves, according to projections by election experts.
BREAKING: Republican Tate Reeves has been re-elected Governor of Mississippi. pic.twitter.com/rcqiqJp9vd
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) November 8, 2023
I've seen enough: Tate Reeves (R) wins reelection in #MSGOV, defeating Brandon Presley (D).
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 8, 2023
In addition to Reeves' victory, who at the time of publishing this article had obtained 55.72% of the votes with 66% of the tables counted, the Republican Party consolidated its dominance in Mississippi with several wide-margin victories in various important local races such as lieutenant governor-general of Mississippi, Secretary of State, attorney general, auditor general, commissioner general of agriculture and commerce, among other elections.
The results are revealing, as the Mississippi GOP had to defend itself from an impressive amount of money from liberal and Democratic donors at the national level who sought to change the color of the state's governorship, controlled by Republicans since 1999.
The Democratic defeat once again nullified the large donations from the Washington-based Democratic Governor's Association, which gave almost $6 million to Presley's campaign.
In 2019, the same group donated just over $2 million to Jim Hood, the then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate who lost to Reeves.
Presley attempted to gain momentum in an uphill race by promising Medicaid expansion and calling himself a tax-cutting Democrat.
He also attempted to gain public sympathy through his difficult history of self-improvement, recounting his tough childhood being raised by a single mother after his father was murdered.
Reeves, on the other hand, is a politician with extensive experience in Mississippi since, before coming to office in 2019, he had served as lieutenant governor in two terms and as state treasurer in another two. In addition, he had the support and encouragement of former President Donald Trump.
