Presley concedes to Reeves in Mississippi’s gubernatorial race

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves appeared to secure a second term, fending off a strong challenge from Brandon Presley, a moderate Democrat he cast as a far-left acolyte of President Biden and raising concerns about a lack of excitement among conservatives conquered.

Mr. Presley admitted to Mr. Reeves shortly before 11 p.m. Central Time.

While the outcome was not a surprise, given the Republican Party’s dominance in the state, it did not come as easily as some had expected at the start of the race. Mr. Presley, a little-known utility regulator, mounted a spirited campaign that kept Mr. Reeves on his toes.

Mr. Reeves, who was first elected governor in 2019, campaigned on his conservative credentials while continually linking Mr. Presley to Mr. Biden and other national Democrats who are deeply unpopular in Mississippi.

He boasted about the tax cuts he signed and promised to pursue his unrealized ambition to eliminate the state income tax. Mr. Reeves also pointed to teacher pay increases, which he signed into law last year, which were among the largest in the state’s history, and the fact that unemployment had fallen to the lowest level in decades.

Mr. Presley toured the state advocating for Medicaid expansion and cutting the country’s high grocery tax, which is among the highest, saying he would bring relief to working families. He focused heavily on mobilizing black voters, but he also believed he could drive away white centrists and Republicans attracted to his message.

Mr. Presley, a second cousin of Elvis Presley and a former mayor of Nettleton, Miss., a town of about 2,000 in the northern part of the state, focused on his personal story of struggling with poverty as a child. He called Mr. Reeves disconnected from the experiences of the state’s working poor.

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter, recently discovered that the elections had ‘turned into a competitive fight’. It described Mr. Presley as an “unusually strong candidate.”

But in the end, Mr. Presley failed to close the gap and thwart Mr. Reeves’ triumph, an outcome that underlines the strength the Republican Party has amassed in Mississippi.