2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Country:Mississippi
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Previous Year:2019
Next Election:2027 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Next Year:2027
Election Date:November 7, 2023
Turnout:42.6%
Image1:File:Gov. Tate Reeves Signs House Bill 1486 (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Tate Reeves
Party1:Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:418,233
Percentage1:50.94%
Nominee2:Brandon Presley
Party2:Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:391,614
Percentage2:47.70%
Map Size:250px
Governor
Before Election:Tate Reeves
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Tate Reeves
After Party:Republican Party (United States)

The 2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2023, to elect the governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Republican Governor Tate Reeves won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee, Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley.[1]

Primary elections were held on August 8.[2] Reeves won the Republican nomination, while Presley won the Democratic nomination unopposed.

The race was considered to be competitive, with Reeves moderately favored. Reeves won re-election, but this was the best performance for a Democrat, the worst for a Republican, and the closest Mississippi gubernatorial election since 1999. It was also the closest ever gubernatorial election in the state won by a Republican,[3] and the closest gubernatorial election in the 2023 cycle.

Background

This was the first Mississippi gubernatorial election since a 2020 referendum altered the election process. Previously, under a provision crafted as part of the 1890 Constitution of Mississippi, a candidate needed a majority of voters across the state and a majority of voters in a majority of state House of Representatives districts; if no candidates achieved such a result, the state House of Representatives would choose between the top two finishers, something that only happened in 1999.

This structure was referred to as Mississippi’s version of the electoral college; it was originally crafted, in the words of the Mississippi Historical Society, as part of "the legal basis and bulwark of the design of white supremacy". In the 21st century, because the state House districts favor Republican candidates, the provision was seen as helping Republican gubernatorial candidates as well.[4] Under the new law, any candidate who receives a majority of statewide votes will be elected; if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a statewide runoff election between the top two candidates will be held.[5]

A socially conservative Southern state, Mississippi is considered safely Republican at the federal and state levels, with both of its U.S. senators, all but one of its U.S. representatives and all statewide executive officers currently belonging to the Republican Party. In the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump comfortably carried Mississippi by 17 percentage points. Incumbent governor Tate Reeves was first elected in 2019, narrowly defeating then-attorney general Jim Hood, who was the only Democrat elected to hold statewide office in Mississippi at the time.

Most analysts considered Reeves to be a favorite to win reelection, given the state's partisan lean and incumbency advantage. Nonetheless, the race was considered to be unusually competitive throughout the Fall as polling showed the race within the margin of error. Weaknesses for Reeves included his narrow victory four years prior, the heavy criticism he has faced for his handling of the Jackson water crisis, and for his ties to a welfare corruption scandal, both of which led him to have the lowest approval ratings of any Republican governor in the country. The Democratic nominee, Brandon Presley, was considered to be a strong general election candidate; he represented the Northern district on the Mississippi Public Service Commission since 2008, despite that district having a strong Republican bent, and held relatively moderate views on social issues, thus being closer to fitting the state.[6] [7]

Mississippi has the highest rate of disenfranchisement in the United States and around 16% of the African American voting age population is disenfranchised.[8]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
David
Hardigree
Tate
Reeves
John
Witcher
OtherUndecided
Mississippi Today/Siena CollegeJun 4–7, 2023646 (RV)± 4.8%0%59%0%8%33%
American StrategiesMay 22–24, 2023646 (LV)± 3.9%2%70%4%-24%
Tate Reeves vs. Bill Waller Jr.

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Disqualified

Declined

Results

Independents

Candidates

Withdrawn

Declined

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
align=left The Cook Political Report[32] October 23, 2023
align=left Inside Elections[33] September 1, 2023
align=left Sabato's Crystal Ball[34] October 16, 2023
align=left Elections Daily[35] November 7, 2023

Endorsements

Polling

Aggregate polls
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Tate
Reeves (R)
Brandon
Presley (D)
OtherUndecided
Public Policy Polling (D)October 19–20, 2023601 (V)± 4.0%46%45%10%
Magnolia Tribune/Mason-DixonSeptember 27 – October 2, 2023625 (LV)± 4.0%51%43%6%
Mississippi Today/Siena CollegeAugust 20–28, 2023650 (LV)± 4.0%52%41%1%6%
Impact Research (D)August 6–9, 2023600 (LV)± 4.0%46%46%8%
OnMessage Inc. (R)July 7, 202349%32%19%
Impact Research (D)April 24–27, 2023600 (LV)± 4.0%47%44%9%
Mississippi Today/Siena CollegeApril 16–20, 2023783 (RV)± 4.3%49%38%7%6%
Magnolia Tribune/Mason-DixonMarch 6–10, 2023625 (RV)± 4.0%46%39%15%
Mississippi Today/Tulchin ResearchJanuary 21–25, 2023500 (RV)± 4.4%43%47%10%
Mississippi Today/Siena CollegeJanuary 3–8, 2023821 (RV)± 4.6%43%39%2%14%
Impact Research (D)December 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%49%42%9%
Tate Reeves vs. generic opponent
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Tate
Reeves (R)
Generic
Opponent
Undecided
Mississippi Today/Siena CollegeApril 16–20, 2023783 (RV)± 4.3%36%60%4%
Mississippi Today/Siena CollegeJanuary 3–8, 2023821 (RV)± 4.6%33%57%10%

Results

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

Official campaign websites

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023-11-08 . Republican Gov. Tate Reeves wins re-election in Mississippi . 2023-12-12 . NBC News . en.
  2. Web site: Mississippi elections, 2023 . 2023-01-31 . Ballotpedia . en.
  3. Web site: Leip . Dave . Mississippi Election Results . November 18, 2023 . Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  4. Web site: How a Jim Crow law still shapes Mississippi's elections . October 11, 2019 .
  5. Web site: For the first time in state history, voters remove Jim Crow provision from Mississippi Constitution . November 4, 2020 .
  6. Web site: Vakil . Caroline . 2023-01-23 . Democrats see Mississippi governor's race as ripe for an upset . 2023-01-31 . The Hill . en-US.
  7. Web site: Lucas . Fred . 2023-04-21 . 3 deep red state governors' races that could be surprisingly competitive in 2023 — and even expand Dem control . 2023-05-03 . Fox News . en-US.
  8. News: January 8, 2022 . Levine . Sam . The racist 1890 law that’s still blocking thousands of Black Americans from voting . . live . February 26, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240226053021/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/08/us-1890-law-black-americans-voting.
  9. News: January 3, 2023 . Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves files for reelection bid . .
  10. Web site: Candidate qualifying deadline passes and reveals slate of 2023 statewide candidates. www.wlbt.com. February 1, 2022. February 2, 2023.
  11. Web site: Mississippi doctor against vaccine mandate runs for governor. www.wlbt.com. January 24, 2023. January 25, 2023.
  12. News: Number of election qualifiers has trickled as 5 p.m. deadline approaches today.
  13. News: Pender . Geoff . Gov. Tate Reeves straddling fences, catching flak from all quarters . February 8, 2021 . . Mississippi News and Information Corporation . December 21, 2020.
  14. News: Foster announces run for supervisor . 27 December 2022 . Bakken . Bob.
  15. News: Gov. Tate Reeves' low poll numbers could embolden opposition in 2023 . . 16 October 2022 . Harrison . Bobby.
  16. News: Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson announces re-election bid for 2023 . 28 July 2022.
  17. Web site: Harrison. Bobby. House in limbo as Speaker Philip Gunn weighs run for governor. Mississippi Today. August 4, 2022. September 29, 2022.
  18. Web site: Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn announces he will not run for reelection . 2022-11-11 . The Clarion-Ledger . en-US . 9 November 2022.
  19. News: 3 January 2023 . Bill Waller Jr. 'strongly considering' a primary challenge of Gov. Tate Reeves .
  20. Web site: 2023-01-31 . Ex-justice Waller will not run for Mississippi governor . 2023-01-31 . AP NEWS . en.
  21. News: Vance . Taylore . Secretary of State Michael Watson mulls move to oust Gov. Tate Reeves . December 20, 2022 . . December 17, 2022.
  22. Web site: Journal . TAYLOR VANCE Daily . Michael Watson will run for re-election as secretary of state . 2023-01-25 . Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal . January 25, 2023 . en.
  23. News: Bonelli . Cam . 15 August 2022 . Auditor talks future . . Shad White isn’t planning a run for governor, but he will be running for reelection as state auditor..
  24. Web site: Hernandez . Rachel . January 12, 2023 . Brandon Presley joins race for Mississippi governor . 2023-01-12 . . en-US.
  25. Web site: Harrison . Bobby . February 17, 2023 . Democrats disqualify Brandon Presley's primary challengers for governor . 2023-01-12 . . en-US.
  26. Web site: Salers . Caleb . Formerly disqualified Democratic gubernatorial candidate wins lawsuit against party, back on ballot . . 27 May 2023 . 26 May 2023.
  27. News: Presley Will Be Lone Democrat In Governor Primary, Court Rules . Pittman . Ashton . 13 June 2023 . Mississippi Free Press . 13 June 2023.
  28. News: Former congressional candidate Shuwaski Young preparing for 2023 statewide run as Democrat . 9 January 2023 . Young did tease his belief that Democrats will field a strong candidate to challenge Reeves for governor, an office that Young has said he is not seeking..
  29. Web site: Crown . Kayode . Shuwaski Young Launches Bid For Mississippi Secretary of State . Mississippi Free Press . January 12, 2023 . January 10, 2023.
  30. Web site: Report of Contributions and Dispursements . Mississippi Secretary of State . 19 June 2023 . June 9, 2023.
  31. Web site: 2023-10-09 . Gwendolyn Gray endorses Brandon Presley for governor . 2023-10-09 . WJTV . en-US.
  32. Web site: Taylor . Jessica . Mississippi Governor Moves From Likely To Lean Republican . The Cook Political Report . 23 October 2023 . October 23, 2023.
  33. Web site: Gubernatorial Ratings . July 24, 2023 . Inside Elections.
  34. Web site: 2024 Gubernatorial race ratings . July 24, 2023 . . en.
  35. Web site: Cunningham . Eric . 2023-11-07 . Final 2023 Gubernatorial Ratings: Kentucky Moves to Leans Democratic, Mississippi is Likely Republican . 2023-11-07 . Elections Daily . en-US.
  36. Web site: Mississippi Secretary of State .
  37. Web site: November 7, 2023 . Winston County, Mississippi .