OurTupelo

And so, the question is asked: When was the last time Ole Miss played a football game as important and meaningful as the one the Rebels will play Saturday at Georgia?

Good question. So glad you asked.

The last time was Nov. 22, 2003 — 20 years ago — before many of these current Rebels were born. Jaxson Dart was seven months old. Quinshon Judkins had been around for three weeks. Suntarine Perkins was safe and warm in his mama’s tummy.

Do you remember? If you were there, you could not have forgotten.

LSU, 9-1 and ranked No. 3 in the nation, was the visiting opponent. Ole Miss, led by senior Heisman Trophy candidate Eli Manning, had won six straight games including consecutive victories over Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina and Auburn and was ranked No. 15. The winner was headed to Atlanta and the SEC Championship.

As I wrote in a page 1A column for the Clarion-Ledger the morning of the game, the question wasn’t so much whether the Rebels could hang with the mighty Tigers as it was: Could Oxford’s plumbing handle the party? Or, could Oxford’s infrastructure handle the crowd?

An estimated 80,000 people descended on Oxford that day. Yes, only 62,000 or so could get through the stadium gates, but thousands more came hoping to score a ticket or to just enjoy the party in The Grove.

Scalpers were getting $1,500 for a single ticket. Private jets had to schedule arrival times 24 hours in advance. “We’ve got a good water and sewer system, so I think the plumbing will be OK,” then-Oxford mayor Richard Howorth said. “Now, as for the roads, the traffic and the intoxication level, your guess is as good as mine.”

Just as now, there were stories written that week about when was the last time Ole Miss had played a game so huge. The consensus was that you had to go back to when Eli’s dad, Archie, played.

Again, if you were there that day, you have not forgotten. The leaves had turned brilliantly red, yellow and orange. The weather was postcard perfect. The scene was, well, absolutely wild.

So often when the build-up to an event is so extraordinary, what follows falls flat in comparison. That wasn’t the case on Nov. 22, 2003, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The game more than lived up to the pregame hype. 

LSU, coached then by Nick Saban, was remarkably talented, especially on defense. The Tigers, who would go on to trounce Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and then knock off Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship, were an amazing blend of speed, ability and strength, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. 

The deciding factor: Ole Miss could not run the ball at all. The Rebels gained just 27 yards on the ground, allowing the Tigers to come at Eli Manning from all angles with an assortment of Saban-special blitz packages. 

Still, Ole Miss battled to the final horn, missing a 36-yard field goal to tie the game with just over four minutes remaining. Ole Miss was good — really good. LSU was just a tad better.

Twenty years later, the current Rebels face a similarly difficult task, and this time they will be on the road, between the famed hedges at Athens. Two decades ago, the Rebels faced the eventual national champion. This time, they face the two-time defending national champions. No. 1 ranked Georgia is an 11-point favorite. The Bulldogs have won 35 consecutive regular season games and haven’t loss since Dec. 4, 2021, to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. (The ‘Dogs returned the favor, winning by 15 in the CFP Championship Game.)

Georgia is the current gold standard in college football. Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs have been ranked No. 1 for 21 consecutive college football polls. Smart is 90-15 at Georgia. The ‘Dogs won their final four games of the 2020 season and are 38-1 since then. In other words, Georgia has won 42 of its last 43 games. They haven’t lost a game in 1,094 days.

That said, this Georgia team seems more vulnerable than the last two. The Bulldogs trailed by 11 at halftime to South Carolina. They had to score late to win at Auburn 27-20. They were tied at halftime last week with Missouri. Tight end Brock Bowers is out with an injury.

Can Ole Miss win? Certainly. Bigger upsets happen every week. Is the 11-point point spread out of line? I think so.

On the other hand, how do you pick against 42-1?

The post A game this big for Ole Miss? Think back 20 years ago to LSU and Eli Manning appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Nov. 6, 1860

Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. 

The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln struggled as a child. “Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher,” he recalled, “but that was all.” 

His physical labor eventually led to law and eight years in the Illinois Legislature. 

“His ambition,” his law partner wrote, “was a little engine that knew no rest.” 

He lost his 1858 race for the Senate against Stephen A. Douglas, but he gained a national reputation that led to the Republican nomination. After his election, he said in his inaugural address to the South, “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you…. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.” 

When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, Lincoln called on the states for 75,000 volunteers, and the Civil War began. 

In dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg, he wished that “these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and a year later, he won reelection. He served until 1865 when he was assassinated. 

Today both historians and citizens consistently rate him as one of the best presidents of all time, admiring his rise from humble roots, his emancipation of slaves and his dedication to preserve the Union. The Lincoln Memorial, built in his honor, bears these words of his: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds.”

The post On this day in 1860 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Welcome to The Homestretch, a daily blog featuring the most comprehensive coverage of the 2023 Mississippi governor’s race. This page, curated by the Mississippi Today politics team, will feature the biggest storylines of the 2023 governor’s race at 7 a.m. every day between now and the Nov. 7 election.

GULFPORT — The Mississippi Gulf Coast is one gubernatorial candidate’s firewall of support, and it’s where his opponent is dreaming of an upset.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley made final campaign pitches over the weekend to voters on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, one of the state’s political battleground areas that could determine the outcome of Tuesday’s election.

Presley wrapped up his final campaign event in Gulfport on Saturday night by speaking to a group of organized labor union members, some of whom have canvassed in the area for the Democratic candidate. 

“He doesn’t understand the struggles of average Mississippians,” Presley said of Reeves at the rally. “Not only does he not understand — he doesn’t care.” 

Presley sits at a major disadvantage in winning most of the areas on the Coast. He’s a native and former mayor of Nettleton, a small town on the opposite end of the state, and he’s never appeared on a ballot in south Mississippi.

But he told Mississippi Today that because his campaign has worked to build name ID and established a ground game in the area, he believes he can surprise people by picking off certain voting precincts.

“We’re already beginning to see data that shows we’re going to be extremely competitive down here,” Presley said on Saturday. “One of the things that I think Tate has shown in this campaign is he’s kind of taken the Coast for granted as if somewhere they’re just supposed to vote for him for some reason.”

It’s unclear what Reeves’ final pitch to coastal voters was. His campaign did not make Mississippi Today aware of his campaign events ahead of time, and his campaign spokesman did not respond to requests to report on his weekend campaign activities.

He posted on social media that he spoke at a Friday night event hosted by Pass Christian Mayor Jimmy Rafferty and visited with workers at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. 

Reeves, a Rankin County native, has used his 20 years in public office to strategically cultivate a relationship with leaders in the coastal counties.

READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves kicks off campaign where it’s mattered most: the Gulf Coast

During his two terms as lieutenant governor between 2012 and 2020, Reeves went out of his way to visit the Coast. Long eyeing an eventual run for the Governor’s Mansion, he hosted several town halls and press conferences over those years, typically focused on funding opportunities for the region.

Since he started his term as governor in January 2020, however, the governor has doubled down on that focus, sprinkling the region with hundreds of millions in federal grants administered by state agencies that report to him. And Reeves tapped Frank Bordeaux, a longtime Gulf Coast resident, to lead the Mississippi Republican Party.

Hancock County Tax Assessor Jimmie Ladner told Mississippi Today earlier this year that Reeves recognized the political and economic importance of the area early on in his political career, which is something political and business leaders appreciated. 

“I think when you boil it down to a nutshell of why I support Tate Reeves, just candidly, he recognizes the importance of the Coast, and he doesn’t just recognize our importance every four years,” Ladner said. “And that’s the key. He’s here when we need him.”

While the coastal counties’ results in statewide elections paint them as a conservative haven and a firewall for Reeves, Democrats think the region is ripe for creating political change.

Community activists, lawmakers and local elected officials told Mississippi Today the Coast’s transient community contains a raft of Democratic voters that party leaders and statewide candidates often ignore because of its collective conservative tilt.

The communities that makeup Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties are more diverse than other areas of the state and home to thousands of union-paying jobs.

State and national Democrats appear to be taking notice and have worked this year use these factors to their advantage and shed more of a spotlight on the region.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison visited Gulfport in August and state party leaders have pledged to organize more strategically on the Coast in the future.

Democratic Rep. Jeffrey Hulum of Gulfport told Mississippi Today that Democrats on the Coast may be outnumbered, but there are still a large number of voters in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties that could sway a statewide election. 

“Look, people are fired up down here,” Hulum said. “My advice to anyone is to stop taking us for granted.” 

Headlines From The Trail

Why the contrasting final messages from Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley make perfect sense

A close governor’s race is nothing new for Tate Reeves. Can he repeat his 2019 closing?

Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley hear from voters one last time the weekend before Nov. 7 election

Brandon Presley’s campaign donations outpace incumbent Gov. Reeves nearly two to one

Democrats seek upset in Mississippi governor’s race

Why the governor’s race in Mississippi is turning heads this year

Democrats on the verge of shock upset in Republican heartland

What We’re Watching

1) This past Saturday was the deadline for absentee voting, and the number of ballots requested officially surpassed the number of ballots requested for 2019, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office. In 2019, 58,142 absentee ballots were requested before the election. In 2023, 62,121 have been requested. It can often be tough to glean exact trends from absentee breakdowns, but it’s safe to expect an analysis from Mississippi Today before Election Day.

2) It may be the very last thing any Mississippian wants to hear, but if Tuesday’s election is as close as some predict, a winner might not be known that night. Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison breaks down this nightmare vote-counting scenario for us.

3) Could Presley’s potential success have some effect for Democrats down ballot? Democrats are notably challenging all eight Republican incumbents. Most notably of the challengers, Democrat Greta Kemp Martin has waged a formidable campaign against Attorney General Lynn Fitch. Mississippi Today’s Taylor Vance took a deep dive on Martin’s platform.

The post Reeves, Presley make final campaign stops on the politically do-or-die Gulf Coast appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Welcome to The Homestretch, a daily blog featuring the most comprehensive coverage of the 2023 Mississippi governor’s race. This page, curated by the Mississippi Today politics team, will feature the biggest storylines of the 2023 governor’s race at 7 a.m. every day between now and the Nov. 7 election.

With one last chance to share their message with voters, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley are taking very different approaches.

In the final few days of the 2023 campaign for governor ahead of the Nov. 7 election, the two campaigns are closing out their months-long, multimillion dollar barrage of television ads.

Reeves is airing a 30-second endorsement ad cut by former President Donald Trump, while Presley is airing a 60-second spot focused on his upbringing and values. 

The Republican governor is letting someone else speak for him, and his Democratic challenger is talking about himself. And considering the trajectory of both campaigns and the two candidates’ weaknesses, the final messages make perfect sense.

With high unfavorability ratings and nearly universal name identification, Reeves probably doesn’t feel pressed to speak directly to voters. At least in TV ads this cycle, the first-term Republican governor has not done a lot of that. If you have a deep likability problem, airing an endorsement from one of the most likable politicians in recent history (at least to Mississippi GOP voters) could be a coup.

Presley, on the other hand, has long struggled with name ID. One recent Democratic poll showed about one-third of Mississippi voters don’t know him. He’s also had to fight big spending from Reeves, who has tried to paint the Democrat as an out-of-touch liberal who is beholden to out-of-state interests. If you need to introduce yourself to voters or combat attacks on your character, cutting an ad talking about your early life and values seems like the right play.

Now the questions become: Does the Trump endorsement enthuse Republican voters the way Reeves needs ahead of Election Day? And can Presley’s message really resonate with people who don’t know him or are on the fence because of the way Reeves has painted him?

Perhaps we’ll learn those answers on Nov. 7.

Headlines From The Trail

A close governor’s race is nothing new for Tate Reeves. Can he repeat his 2019 closing?

National Dems outspend national GOP 7-to-1 on Mississippi governor’s race

A visual breakdown of massive 2023 fundraising hauls for Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley

Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley hear from voters one last time the weekend before Nov. 7 election

Brett Favre controversy casts shadow over Mississippi gubernatorial race

After Roe’s fall, Mississippi Democrats wrestle with backing a ‘pro-life’ candidate for governor

Mississippi governor’s race tightens as Democrat closes gap with GOP incumbent

Brandon Presley’s chances of beating Tate Reeves, according to bookmakers

What We’re Watching

1) Saturday was the deadline for in-person absentee voting, so we’ll have a sense soon of how early voting stacks up to previous elections.

2) In the lead-up to Tuesday, candidates now have to file reports of donations or spending over $200 with the secretary of state’s office within 48 hours. In close races, eleventh-hour donations can help fund get-out-the-vote efforts.

3) Black voters are the base of the Mississippi Democratic Party, and their turnout on Tuesday would be crucial to a Presley victory. His campaign has made a concerted effort in the homestretch to reach out to Black voters, and there are reports that he has set aside a large amount of campaign money for outreach efforts in the final days of his campaign.

The post Why the contrasting final messages from Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley make perfect sense appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In mid-October 2019, Democrat Jim Hood held a 46% to 42% lead among likely voters over Republican Tate Reeves in the governor’s race, according to a poll conducted by the Hood campaign.

In most of the multiple internal polls conducted in 2019 by Hickman Analytics, Hood maintained a lead over Reeves. True, Hickman Analytics, a national pollster, was employed by the Hood campaign, but the intent of the poll, like most internal polls conducted by campaigns, was to provide an accurate reflection of the state of the election. None of the polls conducted by Hickman, except for one, were released to the public during the heated 2019 election.

Obviously, those polls did not reflect the outcome of the election. Reeves won 52% to 47%, or by about 45,000 votes out of the almost 875,000 votes cast.

But people who conduct polls like to say they are a snapshot in time. In October 2019, there might have been people who thought they were going to vote for Hood, but in the end did not. It is ingrained in the DNA of many Mississippians not to vote for the Democrat.

It is also reasonable to assume that in the final days of the 2019 election, there were people who had thought they were not going to vote for Tate Reeves, but in the end decided they would rather vote for a Republican they were not enamored with instead of the Democratic candidate.

If the governor’s 2023 race against Democratic challenger Brandon Presley is indeed as close as some people contend, the question is whether Mississippians are ready to vote for the Democrat instead of a Republican incumbent governor who, for whatever reason, many people have a reluctance to support. In the most recent Morning Consult rankings of the popularity of governors, only two governors were viewed more unfavorably by their constituents than Reeves was by Mississippians. Reeves was viewed as favorable by 46% and unfavorable by 44%.

In 2019, Reeves was greatly aided by a rally then-President Donald Trump held for him on the Friday before the election in Tupelo — in the heart of northeast Mississippi, which had been Hood’s base of support in past elections. Hood ended up losing that region, which he had won in four previous statewide elections for attorney general.

This year Trump will not be coming to Mississippi to stump for Reeves before the general election, but the former president did make a video endorsing him. The Reeves campaign, thrilled with the video, is running it on social media and as a television commercial.

It is of interest that in ruby red Mississippi — where a Democrat has not won the Governor’s Mansion since 1999 and where the Democratic presidential candidate has won the state only once since 1956 — that Republican Tate Reeves is depending on Donald Trump to carry him to victory.

Perhaps that says more about Reeves’ appeal to Mississippi voters than any poll.

Will the Trump endorsement have as much of an impact as many believed the Trump rally did in 2019?

In 2019, as Trump appeared in Tupelo, the U.S. House was in the process of impeaching the president. The Hood campaign believed anger over that impeachment galvanized Mississippians for the Republican Reeves in 2019. A matter of fact, Trump spoke more about the impeachment than he did about Reeves at that Tupelo rally.

This year Trump is under criminal indictment in four separate jurisdictions on charges related to trying to overthrow the 2020 presidential election he lost and for trying to hide the fact he left office with classified documents and refused to return them.

Will those criminal indictments impact the governor’s election in Mississippi positively or negatively or at all?

According to the 2019 poll, Trump was viewed favorably by 46% and unfavorably by 43%.

This time around, according to a Mississippi Today/Siena College poll conducted in August of this year, voters were more split over Trump. The poll found 49% had a favorable view of the former president while 48% had an unfavorable view.

Could the outcome of 2023 Mississippi governor’s election be predicated more on voter’s perception of Donald Trump than of Tate Reeves?

The post A close governor’s race is nothing new for Tate Reeves. Can he repeat his 2019 closing? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

PEARL — When Stephanie Harvey goes to her local polling precinct to vote on Nov. 7, the top issue that will determine which candidates she’ll vote for is Medicaid expansion to provide health coverage to the working poor. 

Harvey lives in Brandon, a suburb outside the capital city of Jackson, and works at a job that does not offer health insurance benefits. She could obtain insurance through the private market, but Harvey told Mississippi Today that she couldn’t afford that option. 

“There’s a lot of people who need that health insurance, and I’m one of them,” Harvey said. “I’m out here working, and I just don’t have the money to pay for it.” 

Incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who is running for reelection, is opposed to expansion because he believes Mississippi can’t afford to enact the program and has described the policy as “welfare expansion.” 

Brandon Presley, the Democratic nominee for governor, believes the state should expand Medicaid coverage because more than 200,000 Mississippians could get health insurance, and economists project it would generate billions of dollars in revenue for Mississippi. 

Harvey said she doesn’t consider expansion welfare because the people who would benefit from the program are “already working and trying to make a living.” 

She was one of several Rankin County voters who visited Harvey’s Fish Hut in Pearl on Friday afternoon and had the chance to visit with Democratic candidates running for office. And while Democratic leaders and candidates visited with customers, most of the patrons had no prior knowledge that the politicians would be there during the lunch rush. 

Jessie Griffith, a Pearl resident, also said the top issue for him this election is Medicaid expansion, primarily because studies show the state would experience economic growth if state leaders approve the program.

“Mississippi would probably be about $5 billion richer if we had signed up for that,” Griffith said. 

Joe Powell, a Pearl resident, said he’s become frustrated at the state Legislature and most of Mississippi’s statewide officials for not getting to the bottom of the state’s sprawling welfare scandal in which millions of dollars meant for the state’s poorest people instead went toward projects that prosecutors say were unlawful.

“I don’t receive TANF funds, but when I see people have taken money from the least of us, that should sicken all of us,” Powell said. 

The other main topic he is concerned about is developing the capital city, and he wants to elect candidates that promise better relationships between state leaders and local officials. 

“When people come to Mississippi to do business, they usually come to the capital city,” Powell said.

The weekend before the election, the two candidates for governor are traveling around the state to make last-minute campaign pitches to voters. 

Presley campaigned in Ridgeland and throughout the Delta region on Friday. On Saturday, he campaigned in north Mississippi and will end the night with a rally on the Gulf Coast. 

Reeves’ campaign has not issued press releases detailing where he plans to campaign during the last few days of the election cycle. However, the governor’s profile on X, formerly Twitter, shows he visited Oxford on Saturday morning, and he head to Starkville Saturday evening. The governor has visited places in Amory, Clark County, Waynesboro and Lucedale over the past several days. 

The post Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley hear from voters one last time the weekend before Nov. 7 election appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Nov. 4, 1750

Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, the “Father of Chicago,” was born. 

A man of African descent, he became the first known settler in the area that became the city of Chicago. He married a Potawatomi woman, Kitiwaha (Catherine), and they had two children. 

According to records, the property included a log cabin with two barns, a horse-drawn mill, a bakehouse, a poultry house, a dairy, a smokehouse, a fenced garden and an orchard. At his trading post, DuSable served Native Americans, British and French explorers and spoke a number of languages. 

“He was actually arrested by the British for being thought of as an American Patriot sympathizer,” Julius Jones, curator at the Chicago History Museum told WLS, but DuSable beat those charges. 

In Chicago today, a school, street, museum, harbor, park and bridge bear his name. The place where he settled near the mouth of the Chicago River is now a National Historic Landmark, part of the city’s Pioneer Court.

The post On this day in 1750 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Welcome to The Homestretch, a daily blog featuring the most comprehensive coverage of the 2023 Mississippi governor’s race. This page, curated by the Mississippi Today politics team, will feature the biggest storylines of the 2023 governor’s race at 7 a.m. every day between now and the Nov. 7 election.

As the Mississippi governor’s race enters its final few days, the two campaigns continue to spend at a record pace, and neither candidate is hurting for money to get their message out before the Nov. 7 election.

For the first time in many Mississippi election cycles, a Democratic candidate is going toe-to-toe with the incumbent Republican on campaign spending. Both incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley have spent well north of $10 million to date. In reports out this week, Presley had outraised incumbent Reeves for 2023 by about $5 million, putting his total haul at nearly $12 million. This is noteworthy in part because Reeves is a consummate fundraiser and started the 2023 cycle with a much larger war chest.

Presley’s take is thanks largely to the national Democratic Governor’s Association, seeing an opportunity to flip a governor’s seat, pumping in nearly $7 million to his campaign.

In contrast, the Republican Governor’s Association has donated only $1 million to the incumbent governor’s campaign, compared to the $1.9 million it gave Reeves’ campaign four years ago.

READ MORE: A visual breakdown of massive 2023 fundraising hauls for Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley

Austin Barbour, a Mississippi-based national Republican strategist, said the RGA and Beltway GOP haven’t given large donations to Reeves primarily because he doesn’t need it.

“The RGA hasn’t had to financially prop up or support Tate Reeves like the DGA has done with Brandon Presley because Tate had already raised $6 million to $7 million on his own,” Barbour said. “Such is the life of a Democrat in Mississippi these days, they have to have all that outside support propping them up because they don’t have the support here.”

Barbour said that even with the recent fundraising lead, “the advantage still has to go to Tate Reeves on Tuesday,” as a Republican incumbent in a deep red state.

But DGA Deputy Communications Director Izzi Levy said, “While Tate Reeves and his allies have been asleep at the wheel, Brandon Presley has been running a historically strong campaign — visiting all 82 counties, shattering fundraising records, and investing in a grassroots team that is reaching voters across the state. But don’t take it from us — polls now show a very competitive race and Mississippi Republicans are sounding the alarm about Brandon’s momentum.”

Reeves has tried to make political hay out of Presley’s support from the national Democratic Party and other out-of-state people and groups. Presley has done likewise to Reeves for raking in big donations from people and businesses making billions from state government contracts.

In the final days and particularly the final 72 hours, much of the campaigns’ focus — and spending — will be on getting out their voters. The get-out-the-vote efforts will include door knockers, paid and volunteer staffers, out in neighborhoods urging folks to go vote.

In statewide election cycles since 2003, the state GOP has had the upper hand in GOTV efforts — better funding, more organization, better voter data and more boots on the ground. But this cycle, Democratic leaders report they are more prepared and organized, and Presley has ample cash-on-hand for such efforts.

Headlines From The Trail

A visual breakdown of massive 2023 fundraising hauls for Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley

Despite Gov. Reeves’ debate claims, experts say it’s hard to argue that states are ‘better off’ without Medicaid expansion

Greta Kemp Martin makes reproductive health a focus against Attorney General Lynn Fitch

How the outcome of the 2023 governor’s race might not be known for days after Election Day

Recriminations fly as Reeves, Presley accuse each other of lies in fiery Mississippi gubernatorial debate

Brandon Presley’s Chances of Beating Tate Reeves, According to Bookmakers

What We’re Watching

1) Absentee voting. Today is the deadline for in-person absentee voting, with local circuit clerk’s offices open from 8 a.m. to noon for in-person absentees. As of Friday morning, the number of requested absentee ballots was 50,545, only 86.9% of the number requested for the 2019 statewide election. Low absentee voting typically portends a low in-person turnout for an election. Only 24 of Mississippi’s 82 counties as of Friday morning had reached or surpassed the 2019 level of absentee ballots requested, with some large counties, such as Hancock, Jackson, Jones and Rankin well below.

2) 48-hour reports. In the lead-up to Tuesday, candidates now have to file reports of donations or spending over $200 with the secretary of state’s office within 48 hours. In close races, eleventh-hour donations can help fund GOTV efforts.

3) Black voter turnout. Black voters are the base of the Mississippi Democratic Party, and their turnout on Tuesday would be crucial to a Presley victory. His campaign has made a concerted effort in the homestretch to reach out to Black voters, and there are reports that he has set aside a large amount of campaign money for outreach efforts in the final days of his campaign.

The post National Dems outspend national GOP 7-to-1 on Mississippi governor’s race appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Close appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The 2023 governor’s race between Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley has seen significant fundraising and spending from both candidates.

Reeves, one of the state’s premier political fundraisers who has served in statewide office since 2004, came into the race with deep pockets. Presley, a public service commissioner since 2007, has been bolstered this year by significant support from the Democratic Governors Association.

The 2023 race marks the first time a Democratic challenger has matched a Republican incumbent in recent memory, with more money likely to pour into both campaigns during the final days.

To see a list of the individual donations received by each candidate over time, click here for Brandon Presley and here for Tate Reeves.

Here’s how the candidates’ fundraising and spending compare.

How much have the candidates raised?

While Presley has out-fundraised Reeves since January of 2022, Reeves came into the race with more cash from previous campaigns — nearly $3 million to Presley's half a million.

It's difficult to know the exact number of donations each candidate has received since they are not required to individually list donations from individuals who give less than $200 in a year. But between the itemized donations listed, Presley has collected over 7,500 in the last two years — over double the 3,000 Reeves has.

What has fundraising looked like over time?

Reeves' fundraising for this campaign has climbed relatively steadily over the last two years, while Presley's did not take off until he declared his candidacy this January. His fundraising particularly increased in the late summer, surpassing Reeves by early October.

How many donations came from out-of-state?

Looking at the number of donations received by each candidate and their state of origin, both candidates appear to be primarily funded by Mississippians, with Reeves topping Presley in this category.

In shifting this lens to the dollar value of those donations, both candidates see a smaller portion of their campaigns funded by Mississippi money, with Presley seeing a starker decline. That shift is largely attributed to the significant support both candidates have seen from their respective national governors associations, with Presley getting $5.85 million and Reeves $1 million as of Oct. 29.

Who are their top individual donors?

Who are their top organizational donors?

Editor's note: Several donors to both Gov. Tate Reeves and Brandon Presley are also donors of Mississippi Today. Donors do not influence Mississippi Today’s editorial decisions, and a list of our donors can be found here.

The post A visual breakdown of massive 2023 fundraising hauls for Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley appeared first on Mississippi Today.