Republican Governor Tate Reeves wins re-election in Mississippi

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves won a second term, continuing Republicans’ two-decade hold on the governor’s office by fending off a challenge from Democrat Brandon Pressley, who conceded the race late Tuesday night.

Reeves built A huge war chest of campaign money He won re-election, but Pressley and Democrats’ attacks on health care and the welfare corruption scandal kept the race closer than usual in deep-red Mississippi.

However, Reeves received a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump to go with major support from the Republican Governors Association and the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life American Nominee Fund. Reeves’ campaign spent nearly $10 million on ads promoting his re-election. That was more than enough to secure another GOP victory in the GOP-friendly state.

In ads funded by Reeves’ campaign, he attacked Governor Pressley over medical care for transgender children and linked Pressley to President Joe Biden, who narrowly lost Mississippi. More than 16 percentage points In 2020.

Reeves also praised his record on managing natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, and his work as a steward of taxpayer dollars. The victory comes 20 years after Reeves first won statewide office, when he became the nation’s youngest state treasurer after winning election to the position in 2003.

However, in the weeks leading up to Election Day, the race has heated up among Republican pollsters and strategists Alarm bells rang Reeves also campaigned throughout the state.

Reeves’ first term was marked by news of the massive welfare scandal that occurred while he was lieutenant governor, in which state funds intended for poor families were directed to other projects instead, such as a new college volleyball facility.

Reeves denied involvement in the alleged corruption, but Pressley launched several attack television ads in an attempt to link the governor to the scandal. The Democrat also campaigned on support for Medicaid expansion, which Mississippi Republicans have blocked for more than a decade despite its popularity among voters and the cost pressures facing hospitals in the state.