Poll finds potentially competitive Mississippi governor’s race

A new poll in Mississippi governor’s race released Thursday finds GOP Gov. Tate Reeves facing a potentially competitive race this fall, although he still has an advantage in the Republican state.

The Magnolia Tribune/Mason-Dixon Polling survey finds 46% of registered Mississippi voters backing Reeves and 39% backing Democrat Brandon Presley, a member of the state’s Public Service Commission. Fifteen percent were undecided.

Presley had a slight advantage among independent voters, with 42% supporting him, 37% backing Reeves and 21% undecided. The Democrat does have some work to do to boost his name recognition with 37% of voters surveyed saying they did not recognize his name.

Presley, who is is related to the late Elvis Presley, is the only Democratic candidate in the race. Reeves is not facing any significant primary challengers, so the two candidates are set to face off in November.

Although Democrats may take some solace in the latest survey, a statewide victory is still difficult for any Democrat in the traditionally Republican state. Former President Donald Trump carried the state by 17 percentage points in 2020, but Reeves won a first term by just 5 points in 2019.

The poll surveyed 625 registered voters via live telephone interviews from March 6-9. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.