GOP gains control of all statewide offices
Luke Ramseth and Giacomo Bologna
JACKSON, Miss. - Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves won the race for Mississippi governor Tuesday night, defeating Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood.
For the first time since Reconstruction, Republicans were on track Tuesday to control all statewide elected offices in Mississippi. They also are expected to maintain super-majority control of the legislature.
In incomplete and unofficial results, Reeves led Hood on Tuesday night 52% to 47%. After a race filled with attack ads, Reeves took a conciliatory tone in his victory speech in downtown Jackson.
“I will try to do what is right for the future of Mississippi,” Reeves said. “And I mean all the people of Mississippi.”
Reeves calls for unity
After spending months tarring Hood as a liberal beholden to trial lawyers and national Democrats, Reeves downplayed any acrimony, joking that they disagreed on a few issues. He called Hood a dedicated public servant and asked the crowd to applaud Hood.
“We all know that campaigns are necessarily tough. Battles in the legislature can be tough,” Reeves said. “But we only have one governor. And that one governor must serve one people.”
In the past Reeves promoted his ability to reject government spending, but he told supporters it is now time to invest in the state’s people, particularly teachers and students.
“Our state is in excellent financial shape. We have made tough financial decisions to get us here. Those
Mississippi results
Find out who won elections in Desoto County as well as statewide races. 3A
decisions were not always popular. But the right thing often is not popular,” Reeves said. “We will move Mississippi up the charts. We will make investments, and we will get results.”
Reeves said his supporters worked hard because they “believe that Mississippi must be different.”
“We must resist the leftward drift of our country. We must build a workforce for the jobs of the next 50 years,” he said. “We must protect the culture that makes this a great place to raise a family. We must understand that you can govern as a conservative in Mississippi and still get elected.”
Hood concedes
Hood conceded and called Reeves at about 10:30 p.m., telling supporters, “We’ve run a good race.” Hood reiterated a campaign theme, that he ran to try to help “the least among us.”
“The good Lord has allowed me to serve the people of Mississippi for 24 years,” Hood told a crowd gathered at a downtown Jackson hotel. “It has been a good run. I guess it was not his will that we would continue on as governor. I can tell you, it will be a relief not to have the stress of holding political office.”
Reeves outspent Hood two-to-one, but polls leading up to the contest showed a tight race.
Reeves, the second-term lieutenant governor and former state treasurer, was long considered heir apparent to Gov. Phil Bryant. He cast himself as a hardline conservative and frequently brought national politics into his speeches and ads.
“We’re gonna run this state like Donald J. Trump is running America,” Reeves told a crowd last month.
Hood was the state’s attorney general for 16 years. He shied away from associating with other Democrats and actively courted moderate Republicans upset with the status quo.
In addition to more spending on education and infrastructure, Hood campaigned on expanding Medicaid to lower-income Mississippians under the Affordable Care Act, which would bring billions of dollars of federal money to the state. Hood said this could be done without raising taxes, aligning himself with a plan promoted by some Republicans.
Hood said he was pleased to see the “middle” — including moderates and Republicans
— come together to support him. Yet he also lamented the sharp partisan nature of the contest several times, indicating much of it was due to the national political climate.
“All this partisanship is something that hopefully will change,” Hood said. “It has gotten to such an extent that people you know, that you go to church with, don’t vote for you. There’s something wrong with that. We need to get back to a time where we’re more cordial to each other, in our political affairs.”
Hood also said he felt the race had given many Mississippians hope that they could push for improvements in health care, education and roads.
“The battle’s not over,” he said, adding educators in particular should continue to push for higher pay in the legislature.
Reeves and Hood were destined for a general election match-up until two Republicans with more moderate positions joined the Republican primary.
While Hood cruised to victory in the Democratic primary, Reeves needed a runoff to defeat a Republican opponent who called for spending more on education, expanding Medicaid and raising the gasoline tax to pay for infrastructure repair.
According to campaign finance reports filed last week, Hood’s campaign spent $5.2 million this year, while the main campaign fund for Reeves spent $10.8 million.
In the end, Reeves won by more than 5 percentage points.
“I understand that this victory does not belong to me. This victory belongs to you,” Reeves told supporters. “You got us through the primary. You got us through the runoff. And you got us through the toughest general election in the last 28 years.”
Trump takes credit for win
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both traveled to Mississippi within the last week to rally for Reeves. Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama recorded a last-minute robocall in support of Hood.
“I can’t believe this is a competitive race,” Trump said at a rally in Tupelo on Friday, calling it “embarrassing” that a governor’s race in deep red Mississippi was so close.
The president tweeted Tuesday night to congratulate Reeves — but added the race was a dead heat until his rally.
“Our big Rally on Friday night moved the numbers from a tie to a big WIN,” Trump tweeted. “Great reaction under pressure Tate!”
In his victory speech, Reeves thanked both Trump and Pence for their visits.
“It would have been easy for them to ignore an election for state office in little ol’ Mississippi,” Reeves said. “But they paid attention. They showed up, and they worked hard. And I will never, ever forget their support.”
When a reporter later asked Reeves if he could have won without Trump’s support, Reeves did not directly answer the question.
“Politics is a team sport. We had a lot of support from a lot of people all across America,” Reeves said. “I certainly appreciate President Trump. I appreciate Vice President Pence.”
Governors congratulate Reeves
Officials with the national Republican Governors Association congratulated Reeves Tuesday night.
“Tate Reeves ran a great campaign against the Democrats’ strongest possible recruit, and the RGA is proud to have helped secure his decisive victory,” RGA Executive Director Dave Rexrode said in a statement, adding the RGA sunk $2.5 million into the race, both in direct support to Reeves and other expenditures. “We congratulate Governor-elect Reeves on a race well won, and look forward to welcoming him to the ranks of America’s great Republican governors.”
Ronna Mcdaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, also congratulated Reeves. But on Twitter she characterized his win as solely because of Trump’s visit, claiming Reeves was “down double-digits” before the Tupelo rally.
In another off-year gubernatorial race Tuesday — which also drew national attention and partisan support — Democratic challenger Andy Beshear unseated incumbent Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
Trump had also campaigned in Kentucky, a conservative state with mostly Republican statewide leaders, ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
Two other candidates also ran for Mississippi governor. David Singletary, who ran on a pro-marijuana platform, and Bob Hickingbottom of the Constitution party, each received less than 1% of the vote.
Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-9617050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter. Please support our work at the Clarion Ledger by subscribing.
Laura Testino covers education and children’s issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@ commercialappeal.com or 901-5123763. Find her on Twitter: @Ldtestino