Republican incumbent Tate Reeves fends off Elvis Presley’s cousin in Mississippi gubernatorial race

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves succeeded in his bid to stay in the Governor’s Mansion Tuesday, overcoming a re-election challenge from Democrat Brandon Presley, the second cousin of rock ’n’ roll legend Elvis Presley, in the reliably red state.   

Reeves, first elected in 2019 after serving two terms as Mississippi’s lieutenant governor, had received 52.3% of the vote compared to state utility regulator Brandon Presley’s 45.8% when Presley called Reeves to concede the race.

“It hurts too much to laugh and I’m too old to cry,” Presley told supporters during his concession speech.

Presley, who trailed Reeves by only one percentage point in polling two weeks before Election Day, raised more than $11 million since January, far outpacing his opponent’s $6.2 million haul. 

Presley’s competitive race against Reeves had raised hopes among members of his party that he could become the first Democratic governor of Mississippi in 24 years. 

The non-partisan Cook Political Report shifted its rating of the Deep South race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican” late last month amid Presley’s upstart performance on the campaign trail, where he championed expanding Medicaid, boosting hospital funding and concentrated his campaign outreach to target Black voters. 

Reeves’ campaign was hamstrung by a $77 million welfare scandal that involved NFL legend and Mississippi native Brett Favre – which occurred before the governor assumed the top office and which he denied any involvement in – that Presley argued happened under Reeves’ watch as lieutenant governor. 

Reeves has said his administration is attempting to claw back the misappropriated money, some of which allegedly went to causes championed by Favre rather than the state’s poorest residents.

The incumbent also touted the state’s “economic boom” under his leadership, which led to a $4 billion surplus, and former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his campaign. 

Both candidates said they supported Mississippi’s state-wide abortion ban, which went into effect last year. 

Ballot shortages in the Democratic stronghold of Hinds County, which encompasses the state capital of Jackson, led a state court to order that all precincts remain open for an extra hour, delaying Tuesday’s results.

“This victory sure is sweet,” Reeves said after Presley’s concession.

“Mississippi has momentum, you’ve heard me say it 1000 times throughout this campaign … this is Mississippi’s time,” he added.

In the state’s lieutenant governor race,  Republican incumbent Delbert Hosemann – who survived an August primary challenge from state Sen Chris McDaniel – defeated Democrat D. Ryan Grover by a wide margin, 62.3% to 37.6%, according to the Associated Press.