Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019

Elections in Mississippi, 2019

• Primary: Aug. 6
• General election: Nov. 5
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 7
• Early voting: N/A
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 4

• Online registration: No
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • 

2023 → ← 2015
Governor of Mississippi
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 1, 2019
Primary: August 6, 2019 Primary runoff: August 27, 2019 General: November 5, 2019 Pre-election incumbent(s): Phil Bryant (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Mississippi
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican Inside Elections: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2019 Impact of term limits in 2019 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2019
Mississippi executive elections
Governor Lieutenant governor Attorney general Secretary of state Public service commissioner (3 seats) Agriculture commissioner Insurance commissioner Auditor Transportation commissioner (3 seats) Treasurer

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) defeated state Attorney General Jim Hood (D), Bob Hickingbottom (Constitution), and David Singletary (I) in the November 5, 2019, election for governor of Mississippi. Reeves received 52.2% of the vote to Hood's 46.5%.

Term limits prevented incumbent Phil Bryant (R) from seeking re-election, leaving the seat open to a newcomer.

Reeves defeated former state Supreme Court Chief Justice William Waller (R) in an August 27 runoff after no candidate won a majority of the vote in the Republican primary.

In the Democratic primary, Hood won the nomination over seven other candidates.

Hood was first elected state attorney general in 2003 and served in that office through the 2019 election. Hood won election to each of his four terms as state attorney general by a margin of 10 percentage points or larger. Hood said he was a moderate: "I reload guns. I'm pro-life. People have seen my record for 16 years, so it gives a comfort level to Republicans to cross over." Reeves said that Hood was no moderate: "He’s a liberal Democrat, he has been for 16 years, he continues to be, and that's okay...There are some people in Mississippi that are looking for a liberal Democrat to represent them in the governor's office. But if you are a conservative, I think that you only have one option."

Reeves said that he cut taxes and lowered the state debt while in office, with a Reeves campaign ad saying that "Mississippi's got less debt today than when I got elected, first time in history. More of our people are working than ever before." Hood says that Reeves' tax cuts did not benefit the average Mississippian: "Since 2012, Reeves has handed out $765 million in tax giveaways, mainly to benefit large, out-of-state corporations...When politicians crow about how many times they’ve cut taxes, look at your own pocketbook to see how much tax relief you’ve gotten."

Both Reeves and Hood accused one another of ethics violations, with both saying that their opponent had identified policy priorities based on the interests of campaign donors.

As of October 29, 2019, three race ratings agencies rated the race Leans Republican.

To win the general election, a candidate needed to receive a majority in the popular vote and win a majority of Mississippi's 122 state house districts. Had no candidate fulfilled both of these requirements, the Mississippi House of Representatives would have selected the winner. As of November 2019, Republicans held a 74-44 majority in the state House.

On May 30, 2019, four voters, backed by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, sued to overturn the procedure for electing the governor, alleging it discriminated against black candidates. On November 1, 2019, Judge Daniel Jordan announced that he would not issue an injunction blocking the procedure. Read more here.

Mississippi voter? Dates you need to know.
Candidate Filing Deadline	March 1, 2019
Election Registration Deadline	October 7, 2019
Absentee Ballot Return Deadline	November 4, 2019
General Election	November 5, 2019
Voting information
Photo ID?	Yes
Polling place hours	7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here. For more on the runoff, click here.

This election was a battleground race. Other 2019 battlegrounds included:

Mayoral election in Dallas, Texas (May 4, 2019 general election) Mayoral election in Kansas City, Missouri (April 2, 2019 primary election) Mayoral election in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 21, 2019 Democratic primary)

Candidates and election results

See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019

General election

General election for Governor of Mississippi

Tate Reeves defeated Jim Hood, David Singletary, and Bob Hickingbottom in the general election for Governor of Mississippi on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tate Reeves (R)	51.9	459,396
		Jim Hood (D)	46.8	414,368
		David Singletary (Independent)	1.0	8,522
		Bob Hickingbottom (Constitution Party)	0.3	2,625

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 884,911 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Governor of Mississippi

Tate Reeves defeated William Waller in the Republican primary runoff for Governor of Mississippi on August 27, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tate Reeves	54.1	179,623
		William Waller	45.9	152,201

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 331,824
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Hood	69.0	208,634
		Michael Brown	11.0	33,247
		Velesha P. Williams	6.9	20,844
		Robert Shuler Smith	6.7	20,395
	Submit photo	Robert Ray	1.9	5,609
	Submit photo	William Compton	1.8	5,321
		Albert Wilson	1.7	5,122
	Submit photo	Gregory Wash	1.1	3,218

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 302,390
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Phillip West (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi

Tate Reeves and William Waller advanced to a runoff. They defeated Robert Foster in the Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 6, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tate Reeves	48.9	187,312
✔		William Waller	33.4	128,010
		Robert Foster	17.7	67,758

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 383,080
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Candidate profiles

See also: Editorial approach to writing about key campaign messages

Jim Hood, attorney general

Party: Democratic

Incumbent: No

Political office: Mississippi Attorney General (Assumed office: 2004)

Biography: Hood received his J.D. from the University of Mississippi in 1988. He served as an assistant attorney general and a district attorney for the Third Judicial District before being elected state attorney general in 2003.

Key messages

• Hood said his top priorities were growing the economy, improving the state's public education system, and improving healthcare access for impoverished persons through the expansion of Medicaid.

• Hood positioned himself as a moderate focused on solving people's practical problems. He said, "The crazies on both extremes of our parties have been driving the agenda, and people are sick of it."

• Hood emphasized his record as attorney general, saying he stood up for common people against corporations from outside the state and provided relief after natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and human-caused disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

• Hood said that Reeves had supported bills in the state Senate based on the policy priorities of his campaign donors and that he applied improper pressure on state agencies to encourage construction of a frontage road outside his neighborhood.

Tate Reeves, lieutenant governor

Party: Republican

Incumbent: No

Political office: Mississippi Lieutenant Governor (Assumed office: 2012), Mississippi State Treasurer (2004-2012)

Biography: Reeves received his B.A. in economics from Millsaps College. After college, he worked as a financial analyst in Jackson, Mississippi. In 2003, he was elected Mississippi treasurer at age 29, becoming the first Republican to serve in the position.

Key messages

• At his campaign announcement, Reeves named job creation, fiscal conservativism, low taxes, and education policy as his top priorities.

• Reeves emphasized his experience and leadership positions in state government. Reeves' campaign website highlighted his role in a 2016 income tax cut bill that he said decreased Mississippi's unemployment rate and increased economic growth. It also highlighted his opposition to abortion and support for more restrictions on abortion access.

• Reeves highlighted his support for President Donald Trump and his opposition to national Democratic figures like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.

• Reeves said that as state attorney general, Hood had contracted state cases over to private attorneys whom he had taken campaign contributions from and that he had abused his office by conducting a state investigation into Reeves while the campaign was ongoing.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019
Poll	Jim Hood (D)	Tate Reeves (R)	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size
Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy October 17-19, 2019	43%	46%	11%	+/-4	625
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Click [show] to view hypothetical polls conducted before the general election.

Hypothetical polls Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019 (Hood vs. Reeves vs. Singletary) Poll Poll sponsor Jim Hood (D) Tate Reeves (R) David Singletary (I) Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size Impact Management Group June 10-14, 2019 Y'all Politics 36% 48% 4% 12% +/-4.0 610 Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019 (Hood vs. Waller vs. Singletary) Poll Poll sponsor Jim Hood (D) William Waller (R) David Singletary (I) Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size Impact Management Group June 10-14, 2019 Y'all Politics 36% 43% 4% 17% +/-4.0 610 Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019 (Waller Jr. vs. Hood) Poll Poll sponsor William Waller (R) Jim Hood (D) Undecided/Other Margin of error Sample size NBC News/SurveyMonkey July 2-16 Mississippi Today 53% 41% 6% +/-4.2 1,042 Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019 (Reeves vs. Hood) Poll Poll sponsor Tate Reeves (R) Jim Hood (D) Other/undecided Margin of error Sample size NBC News/SurveyMonkey July 2-16 Mississippi Today 51% 42% 7% +/-4.2 1,042 Hickman Analytics May 5-9 Hood campaign 40% 45% 15% +/-4.0 604 OnMessage Inc. January 30 Reeves campaign 51% 36% 13% +/-3.46 600 Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy January 30 - February 1, 2019 N/A 42% 44% 14% +/-4.0 625 AVERAGES 46% 41.75% 12.25% +/-3.92 717.75 Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019 (Reeves vs. Hood vs. Waller Jr.) Poll Poll sponsor Tate Reeves (R) Jim Hood (D) Bill Waller Jr. (I) Other/undecided Margin of error Sample size Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy January 30 - February 1, 2019 N/A 38% 40% 9% 13% +/-4.0 625 Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Mississippi Secretary of State covering all contributions and expenditures made in 2019 through October 26. Reeves had two political committee accounts in addition to his personal campaign finance account; contributions and expenditures made from all three accounts (including transactions among the three accounts) are included.
In addition to the above figures, both Hood and Reeves entered 2019 with funds already in their campaign accounts:

• Hood reported $1,044,677.21 in his account as of January 1, 2019.
• Reeves reported $6,745,136.94 in his accounts as of January 1, 2019.

Satellite spending

Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.

• The Republican Governors Association's Mississippi affiliate Mississippi Strong reported spending $167,000 on an ad campaign in opposition to Hood between August 28 and September 24.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2019	October 22, 2019	October 8, 2019	September 24, 2019
The Cook Political Report	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Likely Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican	Lean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

Noteworthy general election endorsements
Endorsement	Hood (D)	Reeves (R)
Elected officials
President Donald Trump (R)		✔
Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton (D)	✔
Individuals
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue		✔
Organizations
Mississippi Association of Educators	✔
Mississippi Police Benevolent Association		✔
Political action committees
National Federation of Independent Business Mississippi PAC		✔

Click here to see a list of endorsements in the August 6 Republican primary and August 27 Republican primary runoff

Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at [email protected]. Post-primary endorsements Republican candidate endorsements Endorsement Reeves Waller Individuals Former Gov. Haley Barbour (R) ✔ Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture Andy Gipson (R) ✔ Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney (R) ✔ State representative and former gubernatorial candidate Robert Foster (R) ✔ State Sen. Josh Harkins (R) ✔ State Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) ✔ State Rep. Mark Baker (R) ✔ State Rep. Joel Bomgar (R) ✔ Organizations Mississippi Asphalt Pavement Association ✔ Pre-primary endorsements Republican candidate endorsements Endorsement Reeves Waller Individuals Jim Herring, former Mississippi GOP chairman (2001-2008) ✔ Mike Retzer, former Mississippi GOP chairman (1978-1982; 1996-2001) ✔ Clarke Reed, former Mississippi GOP chairman (1966-1976) ✔ Billy Powell, former Mississippi GOP chairman (1993-1996) ✔ Gregg Harper, former U.S. representative ✔ Joe Nosef , former Mississippi GOP chairman (2012-2017) ✔ Arnie Hederman , former Mississippi GOP chairman (2011-2012) ✔ Brad White , former Mississippi GOP chairman (2008-2011) ✔ 10 mayors from coastal Mississippi ✔ Gov. Phil Bryant (R) ✔ Organizations Americans for Prosperity Action ✔ Mississippi Manufacturers Association ✔ National Rifle Association ✔ American Conservative Union ✔ Mississippi Medical PAC ✔ Mississippi Right to Life PAC ✔ Newspapers and editorials Hub City Spokes editorial board ✔

Click here to see a list of endorsements in the August 6 Democratic primary
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at [email protected]. Democratic candidate endorsements Endorsement Hood Smith Individuals Former Gov. Ray Mabus (D) ✔ Former gubernatorial candidate and former state Rep. Phillip West (D) ✔

Conflicts with other state executive candidates over non-endorsements

Jim Hood

The Democratic nominee to succeed Hood as state attorney general, Jennifer Collins (D), wrote a Facebook post on September 19, 2019, which criticized Hood for not endorsing her, accusing Hood of working to support Republican nominee Lynn Fitch (R). In a September 23 press release, Hood responded that he would not be issuing endorsements in 2019 statewide races.

Tate Reeves

William Waller (R), whom Reeves defeated in the August 27 primary runoff, said on September 3 that he would not endorse Reeves. Robert Foster (R), who was eliminated in the August 6 primary and endorsed Waller in the runoff, said in an August 29 Facebook post that he would support the Republican nominee but did not explicitly endorse Reeves.

Timeline

• November 4, 2019: Vice President Mike Pence (R) headlined a rally in support of Reeves in Biloxi.

• November 1, 2019: President Donald Trump (R) headlined a rally supporting Reeves in Tupelo. Judge Daniel Jordan ruled that he would not issue an injunction suspending the state's requirement that a candidate win a majority of electoral votes ahead of the election.

• October 31, 2019: Reeves and Hood addressed the audience at the Mississippi Economic Council's 18th annual Hobnob. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue endorsed Reeves. The Republican Party of Mississippi released an ad in which President Trump (R) stated his support for Reeves.

• October 29, 2019: Campaign finance reports covering all fundraising and spending between October 1 and October 26 were due. Hood reported raising $2.0 million during this period to Reeves' $1.5 million. As of October 26, Hood had $1.2 million cash on hand to Reeves' $2.2 million.

• October 28, 2019: Reeves released an ad titled Gun Rights. In the ad, Reeves criticized Hood's policy on firearms. Reeves criticized Hood's tenure as state attorney general in an ad titled You Got Burned.

• October 25, 2019: Hood released an ad titled Traveling. In the ad, Hood said that Reeves had misused state resources.

• October 24, 2019: Donald Trump Jr. hosted a fundraiser for Reeves just outside Hattiesburg.

• October 23, 2019: Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy released the results of a poll of 625 registered voters. The poll found that Reeves and Hood were about even; Reeves had 46% support to Hood's 43% with 11% of voters undecided or backing a different candidate. The poll had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Hood released a campaign ad titled Nurse.

• October 21, 2019: Hood and Reeves each released new campaign ads criticizing the other. Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton (D) endorsed Hood.

• October 15, 2019: Hood released an ad titled "Can't Trust" criticizing Reeves' education proposals.

• October 14, 2019: Reeves released an ad titled "Skills" discussing his career and technical education plans.

• October 12, 2019: Reeves released an ad titled "Teachers". In the ad, Reeves discussed his plan to increase teacher pay.

• October 11, 2019: Hood released an ad titled Swamp criticizing Reeves' tenure as lieutenant governor.

• October 10, 2019: Hood and Reeves participated in a debate at the University of Southern Mississippi. Campaign finance reports covering all fundraising and spending between July 1 and September 30 were due. Hood reported raising $2.2 million during this period to Reeves' $5.8 million. As of September 30, Hood had $1.1 million cash on hand to Reeves' $3.2 million.

• October 7, 2019: The National Federation of Independent Business Mississippi PAC endorsed Reeves.

• October 2, 2019: President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Reeves. Hood released an ad titled Pressure, while Reeves released an ad in response.

• October 1, 2019: Jeb Bush (R) headlined a Reeves fundraiser.

• September 27, 2019: Hood released an ad titled Fight Back. In the ad, Hood says he has a record of suing coastal polluters as state attorney general.

• September 24, 2019: The Mississippi Association of Educators endorsed Hood.

• September 23, 2019: The Mississippi Police Benevolent Association endorsed Reeves.

• September 19, 2019: Reeves released an ad titled Garage. In the ad, Reeves criticizes Hood's stance on taxes, torts, and criminal law.

• September 16, 2019: Hood released an ad titled Chickens. In the ad, Hood discussed healthcare policy.

• September 10, 2019: Reeves released an ad titled "Tough Calls". In the ad, Reeves says that during his time in office Mississippi's debt decreased and tax rates went down.

• September 5, 2019: Jim Hood released a campaign ad titled "Tailgate". The ad contrasts what Hood describes as his approach to public service with Reeves'.

• September 4, 2019: The Republican Party of Mississippi released an ad titled Jim Hood - Not A Conservative. The ad says that Hood is connected to out-of-state liberals and that he served as a delegate for Barack Obama (D) and Hillary Clinton (D) during their presidential campaigns.

• August 27, 2019: In the Republican primary runoff, Tate Reeves (R) defeated William Waller (R).

• August 6, 2019: In the Democratic primary, Jim Hood (D) defeated seven other candidates to win the nomination. In the Republican primary, Tate Reeves (R) and William Waller (R) advanced to a runoff while Robert Foster (R) was eliminated.

• August 6, 2019: The Republican Governors Association's Mississippi Strong affiliate released an ad titled "Not Us". The ad is critical of Hood's legal record as state attorney general and says that he had supported Barack Obama (D) and Hillary Clinton (D) in past election cycles.

• July 19, 2019: A SurveyMonkey and NBC News poll conducted on behalf of Mississippi Today found Bill Waller (R) leading Jim Hood (D) 53-41 and Tate Reeves (R) leading Hood 51-42 in hypothetical general election matchups. The poll had a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.

Jim Hood

Support

"Nurse" - Hood campaign ad, released October 23, 2019

"Fight Back" - Hood campaign ad, released September 27, 2019

"Chickens" - Hood campaign ad, released September 16, 2019

"Tailgate" - Hood campaign ad, released September 5, 2019

Oppose

• You Got Burned - Reeves campaign ad
• Reeves campaign ad, released October 2, 2019

"Gun Rights" - Reeves campaign ad, released October 28, 2019

"Local Liberal" - Reeves campaign ad, released October 21, 2019

"Garage" - Reeves campaign ad, released September 19, 2019

"Jim Hood - Not a Conservative" - Mississippi Republican Party ad, released September 4, 2019

"Not Us" - Mississippi Strong ad, released August 6, 2019

Tate Reeves

Support

• Untitled Republican Party of Mississippi ad, released October 31, 2019

"Skills" - Reeves campaign ad, released October 14, 2019

"Teachers" - Reeves campaign ad, released October 12, 2019

"Tough Calls" - Reeves campaign ad, released September 10, 2019

Oppose

"Traveling" - Hood campaign ad, released October 25, 2019

"Under the Hood" - Hood campaign ad, released October 21, 2019

"Can't Trust" - Hood campaign ad, released October 15, 2019

"Swamp" - Hood campaign ad, released October 11, 2019

"Pressure" - Hood campaign ad, released October 2, 2019

Noteworthy events

Mike Pence rally

Vice President Mike Pence (R) headlined a rally supporting Reeves in Biloxi on November 4, 2019.

Donald Trump rally

President Donald Trump (R) headlined a rally supporting Reeves in Tupelo on November 1, 2019.

Donald Trump Jr. fundraiser

Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle headlined a Reeves fundraiser in Purvis, Mississippi, just south of Hattiesburg, on October 24, 2019.

Hood report on frontage road

On September 11, 2019, Hood released a report in his capacity as state attorney general into allegations of improper conduct by Reeves. The report followed an investigation into claims that Reeves had used his position to influence allocation of state highway funds to a frontage road connecting the neighborhood where Reeves was living with a state highway. Construction of the road was canceled.

The report did not outright accuse Reeves of breaking the law but said that violations of criminal and civil law had likely taken place.

Reeves' campaign said that the report was "so far beyond a conflict of interest — it is abuse of office....If there was a real investigation, and Tate would have welcomed a fair one to clear this up, the Democrat running against him for governor should never have been involved, much less the author of the report." The Reeves campaign released a video featuring local officials who each said that they had been involved with the proposed road and that Reeves had not been.

Hood's office said that the report was released alongside a review by former state Supreme Court Justices David Chandler and Edwin Pittman, who each concluded that potential wrongdoing had occurred. He added, "I just did my job, and I think with the supreme court justices, the report speaks for itself."

Jeb Bush fundraiser

Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) headlined a Reeves fundraiser in Lee County on October 1, 2019.

Lawsuit challenging electoral system

On May 30, 2019, four black Mississippi voters sued the state in federal court over a constitutional requirement that a gubernatorial candidate must win a majority of the vote statewide and a majority of the state's 122 state house districts to win the governorship outright. If both of these requirements were not satisfied, the Mississippi House of Representatives would select the winner. As of May 2019, Republicans held a 74-45 majority in the state house.

The lawsuit, which was supported by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, alleged that requiring a candidate to win a majority of state house districts and a majority of the statewide vote discriminated against black Mississippians. As of 2019, black voters were a majority in 42 of Mississippi's 122 state house districts, and the state's population was 38% black.

The requirement that a candidate must win a majority of state house districts and a majority of the vote was first included in the 1890 Constitution. According to Mississippi History Now, the 1890 Constitution was written 15 years after Reconstruction ended in the state and was designed to remove black Mississippians from positions of power.

State House Speaker Philip Gunn (R), who was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, declined to comment. Rep. Bill Denny (R), the chairman of the House Elections Committee, said there had never before been a serious effort to change the method for electing Mississippi's statewide officials and that he was comfortable with the existing system.

The provision came into play in three elections in the 1990s. In the 1991 lieutenant gubernatorial race, no candidate received 50% of the statewide vote, but incumbent Brad Dye (D) conceded the race to top vote-getter Eddie Briggs (R) before the state House voted. Similarly, no candidate won a majority of state house districts in the 1995 lieutenant gubernatorial race, but Briggs conceded the election to Ronnie Musgrove (D), who won a majority of the statewide vote. In the 1999 gubernatorial race, Musgrove won a plurality of the statewide vote, and he and opponent Mike Parker (R) each won 61 state house districts. The Democratic-controlled state House elected Musgrove as governor by an 86 to 36 vote.

As of 2019, the constitutional provision had not prevented any candidate who won the most votes in a statewide election from taking office.

Judge Daniel Jordan heard arguments in the case on October 11, 2019. On November 1, 2019, Judge Jordan ruled that he would not issue an injunction blocking the procedure.

On June 29, 2020, the state legislature approved a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to appear on the November 3, 2020, ballot. The measure proposed implementing general election runoffs in the event that no gubernatorial candidate receives 50% of the vote in lieu of the requirement that a candidate carry a majority of state house districts. Mississippi voters approved the measure by a 79% to 21% margin. Click here for more.

Debates and forums

Mississippi Economic Council Hobnob

On October 31, 2019, Reeves and Hood attended the Mississippi Economic Council's 18th annual Hobnob. Both addressed attendees to outline their vision for the state. Reeves discussed his economic policies, while Hood said the state needed to find ways to keep young residents from emigrating. Click here to view Hood's address and here to view Reeves'.

October 14 debate

On October 14, 2019, Hood and Reeves met for a debate hosted by WCBI. The two discussed tax policy and education.

• Click here to view a full recording of the debate.
• Click here for the Magnolia State Live roundup of the debate.
• Click here for the WLBT roundup of the debate.

October 10 debate

On October 10, 2019, Hood and Reeves met for a debate at the University of Southern Mississippi. The two discussed tax policy, teacher pay, Medicaid expansion, and background checks for firearms purchases.

• Click here to view a full recording of the debate.
• Click here for the Daily Journal roundup of the debate.
• Click here for the Mississippi Clarion Ledger roundup of the debate.
• Click here for the Mississippi Today roundup of the debate.
• Click here for the WDAM roundup of the debate.
• Click here for the WREG roundup of the debate.
• Click here for the WTVA roundup of the debate.

Campaign themes

Candidate survey

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Click here to fill out the survey.

The following campaign themes came from the candidates' campaign websites, where available.

Jim Hood

Campaign website

Hood’s campaign website stated the following:

“	TO GROW OUR ECONOMY Mississippi needs to get back to swinging hammers and building bridges – that’s how we grow our economy and build stronger communities. As your governor I will: Stop the Legislature from running up our debt Create high-paying jobs Put money in Mississippian’s hands, not out-of-state corporations Support our main street merchants Put working people back to work by building highways and bridges Support workforce development programs TO IMPROVE EDUCATION Education is the building block to success. Investing in Mississippi’s public education system means investing in every Mississippian. As your governor I will: Advocate for a statewide, universal pre-kindergarten program Focus on making community colleges and universities more affordable Improve our public-school system TO MAKE HEALTH CARE AFFORDABLE & ACCESSIBLE Jim Hood for Affordable and Accessible Healthcare Jesus said to take care of the widows, orphans, the elderly, and the least among us. When it comes to health care, Mississippi has not followed His word. As your governor I will: Work to make health care affordable for everyone Fight for those who can’t fight for themselves Support law enforcement in the fight against the opioid epidemic Accept federal dollars to help our struggling rural hospitals Focus on improving rural access to health care A RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Passionate champion of children. General Hood has worked tirelessly to prevent children from being abused and exploited, especially by internet predators. His efforts have served as a model for other states. Dedicated public servant. General Hood has served the people for 25 years as an assistant attorney general, district attorney, and attorney general. Friend of consumers. After Hurricane Katrina, General Hood worked to strengthen laws to protect consumers, while prosecuting offenders for home repair fraud, price gouging, identity theft, and financial scams. Watchdog over corporate wrong-doers. General Hood’s commitment to holding corporations accountable has recovered more than $3 billion for taxpayers. Guardian of the Gulf Coast. General Hood worked to provide relief to coastal residents and business owners after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.	”
—Jim Hood’s campaign website (2019)

Tate Reeves

Campaign website

Reeves' campaign website stated the following:

“

Education We’ve made great progress on education in Mississippi. We’ve won results on workforce training, teacher pay raises, record school funding, and scholarships for future teachers—just to name a few things. The most important item: we focused on outcomes, not inputs. We’re no longer just measuring success by how many dollars we put into the system, but by how many kids get a quality education. And it has made all the difference. In national assessments, our kids are outpacing the nation when it comes to gains in math and reading. They are ready to compete with anyone for jobs and further education. Of course, there’s more to do. We need to fix the broken bureaucracy that is holding kids back. We need to do more to make sure that when Mississippi kids graduate from high school they’re ready and able to find a Mississippi job or get a Mississippi college education. When I went to public school in my small Mississippi town, I learned real skills that got me ready for life. That’s missing in too many places these days. We also need to look after our most vulnerable students. I support the program that gives children with disabilities access to the education they need to thrive. I’ll protect them. It’s the right thing to do. As governor, we’ll keep working on our schools so that our students are equipped to start lives, careers, and families here in our state. Taxpayer Watchdog When I first ran for office, I promised to be a watchdog for the taxpayers. I promised to slash wasteful spending and look after every single dollar that you pay in taxes. We’ve done just that. We’ve cut taxes for every single taxpayer in the state. Teachers and truckers, farmers and families. Everybody who paid taxes before our tax cuts now pays less. We even cut taxes on Christmas Trees. (Merry Christmas!) Guess what happened. Revenue went up! More business came to Mississippi. More people have jobs, and more money in their pockets to spend in Mississippi businesses. We’ve been able to cut state debt and invest a billion dollars in roads and bridges because we are bringing in more money. That’s what I’ll continue to do as governor: invest in priorities while keeping the lid on wasteful spending and stopping the tax hikes that lobbyists and liberals push. 2nd Amendment If, God forbid, President Trump is replaced by one of the radical liberals running in 2020, the people of Mississippi will not take kindly to their proposed efforts to confiscate our guns. They are already talking about declaring a national emergency to round them up. These are our rights as Americans, and we will protect them. I believe in your right to protect your family. I believe in your right to defend your home. I will not compromise or back down on this critical issue. We passed a law that says: if the federal government declares a state of emergency they cannot and will not seize our Mississippi guns. As Governor, I will uphold that promise no matter what. Pro-Life I am 100% pro-life, and I believe it is our responsibility to defend the innocent unborn. Today, there are liberals across the country advocating for abortion up-to and even after the moment of birth. It is the greatest evil of our time, and it’s not good enough to say that it is not your job to protect those babies. We need to be proactive. That is why we passed the “heartbeat bill” which says that when a baby has a heartbeat, it cannot be killed. As governor, I’ll continue to stand up for the unborn and protect them. Crime We’ve passed the Blue Lives Matter act—harsher penalties for cop killers. We’ve pushed for pay raises for troopers and criminal justice reform to make it less likely that a person leaving prison will commit another crime. We’ve outlawed sanctuary cities, and I will stand with President Trump to ring the alarm about the emergency on our border. Drug cartels and illegal immigration threaten our whole country, and we need leaders who will stand strong on this issue. The safety of Americans must come first. Health Care We can do more to help Mississippians get the quality health care that they deserve, and that starts with protecting the financial integrity of our Medicaid system and ensuring that it is fiscally sound. We’ve pushed innovative solutions like “health care zones” to improve coverage across the state. I am also the only candidate in this race who opposes expanding Obamacare and recognizes the disastrous effects it would have on our system long-term. Across the country, liberals are taking a “spend now, solve later” approach to health care: between the socialism that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders are pushing to the Obamacare expansion being pushed here in Mississippi. I don’t believe in sound-bite solutions like “Medicaid-for-All”, “Single Payer Health Care”, or “Obamacare expansion”—I believe in real, free-market innovations that will make a difference in the long-run.

”

Social media

Twitter accounts

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Facebook accounts

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Jim Hood
Tate Reeves

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Two of 82 Mississippi counties—2.4 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Chickasaw County, Mississippi	6.06%	4.52%	2.13%
Panola County, Mississippi	0.12%	8.62%	6.52%

Previous statewide races

The maps below highlight counties based on the winner of that county in the 2019 gubernatorial election and the 2016 presidential election or 2015 gubernatorial election, respectively. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) defeated Hillary Clinton (D) in Mississippi by a margin of 17.8 percentage points. In the 2015 gubernatorial election, Phil Bryant (R) defeated Robert Gray (D) by a margin of 34.1 percentage points.

Election history

2015

See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2015

Governor of Mississippi, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Robert Gray	32.4%	234,858
	Republican	Phil Bryant Incumbent	66.2%	480,399
	Reform	Shawn O'Hara	1.4%	9,950
Total Votes				725,207
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

2011

See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2011

Governor of Mississippi, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Phil Bryant	61%	544,851
	Democratic	Johnny DuPree	39%	348,617
Total Votes				893,468
Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State

State profile

See also: Mississippi and Mississippi elections, 2019

Partisan data

The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019

Presidential voting pattern

• Mississippi voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2018 elections, both U.S. Senators from Mississippi were Republicans.
• Mississippi had one Democratic and three Republican U.S. Representatives.

State executives

• Democrats held three and Republicans held 9 of Mississippi's 15 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
• Mississippi's governor was Republican Phil Bryant.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled the Mississippi State Senate with a 33-19 majority.
• Republicans controlled the Mississippi House of Representatives with a 74-46 majority.

Mississippi Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Fourteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Mississippi quick stats

• Became a state in 1817
• 20th state admitted to the United States
• The world's first lung transplant was performed in Mississippi.
• Members of the Mississippi State Senate: 52
• Members of the Mississippi House of Representatives: 122
• U.S. senators: 2
• U.S. representatives: 4

More Mississippi coverage on Ballotpedia:

• Mississippi elections, 2019
• Presidential voting trends in Mississippi
• United States congressional delegations from Mississippi
• Public policy in Mississippi
• Influencers in Mississippi
• Almanac of American Politics state profile
• More...

Demographic data for Mississippi
	Mississippi	U.S.
Total population:	2,989,390	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	46,923	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	59.2%	73.6%
Black/African American:	37.4%	12.6%
Asian:	1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.4%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	1.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	2.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	82.3%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	20.7%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$39,665	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	27%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Mississippi. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Mississippi governor election 2019. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2019 - Google News

See also

Mississippi government:

• Mississippi state executive offices
• Mississippi State Legislature
• Mississippi courts

Elections:

• State executive official elections, 2019
• State executive official elections, 2018
• State executive official elections, 2017

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Trifecta control of state government

External links

Suggest a link

• Governor of Mississippi official website