Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2023

	← 2019
Governor of Mississippi
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: February 1, 2023
	Primary: August 8, 2023; Primary runoff: August 29, 2023; General: November 7, 2023; General runoff: November 28, 2023 (canceled); Pre-election incumbent(s):; Tate Reeves (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: Likely Republican; Inside Elections: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2023; Impact of term limits in 2023; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2023
Mississippi; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; Auditor; Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce; Commissioner of Insurance; Public Service Commission (3 seats); Transportation Commission (3 seats)

Mississippi 2023 elections

Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • School boards • How to run for office

Incumbent Tate Reeves (R) defeated Brandon Presley (D) in the general election for governor of Mississippi on November 7, 2023. Reeves won by 3.2 percentage points, less than he did in 2019 (5.1 percentage points). Gwendolyn Gray (independent) withdrew on October 9, 2023, but still appeared on the ballot.^[1]

Reeves became the first Republican state treasurer in Mississippi's history when he was elected to the position in 2003.^[2] He was elected lieutenant governor in 2011 and served for two terms. Reeves highlighted his record as governor, including what he said was a record-low 3.1% unemployment rate, the largest tax cut in state history, and a record increase in teacher pay.^[3]^[4] He said he would work toward eliminating the state income tax, improving the foster care system, and attracting businesses.^[5]^[3]^[6]

Presley had represented the Northern District of the Mississippi Public Service Commission since 2008. Presley was the mayor of Nettleton, Mississippi, from 2001 to 2007.^[7]^[8] During this time, Presley said he cut taxes and balanced the city's budget.^[9] As governor, he said he would cut taxes, including car tag fees and the grocery tax, fight government corruption, lower the cost of healthcare, expand Medicaid, and create jobs.^[10]^[11]

Polling ahead of the election found that 90% "had some measure of worry about the state’s welfare scandal."^[12] On February 5, 2020, John Davis, the former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, was arrested for misspending approximately $77 million in welfare funds.^[13]^[14] Presley made the welfare scandal and government corruption a prominent part of his campaign. He proposed "enacting new policies so that the largest corruption scandal in state history doesn’t happen again and strengthening the Ethics Commission so Mississippians have an independent watchdog they can be proud of."^[15] The misappropriation of welfare funds occurred when Reeves was the lieutenant governor. Reeves was not charged in relation to the scandal, and he denounced it.^[4] He said it was "a truly disgusting abuse of power."^[16] Reeves said his campaign "would donate contributions from those implicated in the welfare scandal to charity,"^[17] while a Reeves' spokesperson said that the administration had "launched lawsuits against everyone who the state believes owes money back."^[18]

Heading into the election, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rated the race Lean Republican, while Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the race Likely Republican.

Mississippi had a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans controlled the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature. As of September 2023, there were 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 divided governments. Mississippi also had a Republican triplex, meaning Republicans held the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. As of September 2023, there were 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and six divided governments.

Heading into the election, Mississippi was one of 26 states with a Republican governor. Democrats held the governorship in 24 states. The last Democrat elected governor of Mississippi was David Ronald "Ronnie" Musgrove in 1999.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Election news

This section includes a timeline of events leading up to the election.

Election news (January-November 2023)
- Nov. 1, 2023: Reeves and Presley participated in a debate hosted by WAPT-TV.^[19]
- Oct. 31, 2023: Reeves and Presley submitted campaign finance reports for October.^[20] Click here for more information.
- Oct. 26, 2023: Reeves and Presley participated in the Mississippi Economic Council's 2023 Hobnob at the Mississippi Coliseum.^[21]
- Oct. 23, 2023: The Cook Political Report changed its race rating from Likely Republican to Lean Republican.^[22]
- Oct. 9, 2023: Gray withdrew her candidacy but still appeared on the ballot.^[1]
- Oct. 5, 2023: Magnolia Tribune/Mason-Dixon released a poll of 625 respondents showing Reeves at 51%, Presley at 43%, and 6% undecided. The margin of error was ± 4.0 percentage points.^[23]
- Sept. 13, 2023: The National Federation of Independent Businesses endorsed Reeves.^[24]
- Sept. 1, 2023: Mississippi Today/Siena College released a poll of 650 respondents showing Reeves at 52%, Presley at 41%, and 6% undecided. The margin of error was ± 4.0 percentage points.^[25]
- Aug. 8, 2023:
  - Incumbent Tate Reeves (R) advanced from the Republican primary.
  - Brandon Presley (D) advanced from the Democratic primary.
- April 28, 2023: Mississippi Today/Siena College released a poll of 783 respondents showing Reeves at 49%, Presley at 38%, and 6% undecided. The margin of error was ± 4.3 percentage points.^[26]
- March 16, 2023: Magnolia Tribune/Mason-Dixon released a poll of 625 respondents showing Reeves at 46%, Presley at 39%, and 15% undecided. The margin of error was ± 4.0 percentage points.^[27]
- Feb. 1, 2023: The candidate filing deadline passed.
- Jan. 19, 2023: Mississippi Today/Siena College released a poll of 821 respondents showing Reeves at 43%, Presley at 39%, and 14% undecided. The margin of error was ± 4.6 percentage points.^[28]

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Governor of Mississippi

Incumbent Tate Reeves defeated Brandon Presley and Gwendolyn Gray (Unofficially withdrew) in the general election for Governor of Mississippi on November 7, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tate Reeves (R)	50.9	418,233
	Brandon Presley (D)	47.7	391,614
	Gwendolyn Gray (Independent) (Unofficially withdrew)	1.4	11,153

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 821,000
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi

Brandon Presley advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 8, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brandon Presley	100.0	196,307

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 196,307
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Gregory Wash (D)
Bob Hickingbottom (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi

Incumbent Tate Reeves defeated John Witcher and David Hardigree in the Republican primary for Governor of Mississippi on August 8, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tate Reeves	74.7	281,213
	John Witcher	17.7	66,698
	David Hardigree	7.6	28,561

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,472
= 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.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Mississippi

Election information in Mississippi: Nov. 7, 2023, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 9, 2023
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 10, 2023
Online: N/A

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: N/A
By mail: N/A by N/A
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 7, 2023
By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 7, 2023

Was early voting available to all voters?

N/A

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to N/A

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

Photo ID

When were polls open on Election Day?

7:00 AM - 7:00 PM (CST)

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Tate Reeves

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office:

Governor of Mississippi (Assumed office: 2020)
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi (2012-2020)
Mississippi Treasurer (2004-2012)

Biography: Reeves received a bachelor's degree in economics from Millsaps College. Before holding public office, Reeves was an investment officer for Trustmark National Bank. He also worked as an assistant vice president at AmSouth, a banking company. Reeves was the president of the National Association of State Treasurers from 2006 to 2007.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Saying he would continue the momentum from his first term as governor, Reeves highlighted a record-low 3.1% unemployment rate, the largest tax cut in state history, and a record increase in teacher pay.

Reeves said he would continue attracting jobs to Mississippi. In a July 2023 tweet, he said, " ... We cannot be satisfied just taking jobs from Arkansas and Alabama. Mississippi is competing with Tennessee, and Texas and Florida – and we can win."

Speaking to supporters in Jackson, Reeves said of Presley: "The national Democrats think Mississippi is theirs for the taking. They’ve circled our state, and they’ve hand-picked their candidate … these national Democrats think they can use him to inject their liberal ideology into Mississippi under the guise of being a moderate."

Show sources

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, "Mississippi Governor’s Race Pits GOP Incumbent Against Elvis Relative," August 8, 2023, Super Talk Mississippi Media, "Governor Tate Reeves officially announces bid for reelection," January 3, 2023, The Guardian, "Elvis Presley’s cousin is Democratic candidate for Mississippi governor," August 9, 2023, Twitter, "Team Tate!" July 27, 2023; Office of Governor Tate Reeves, "Governor Tate Reeves," accessed September 7, 2023, Mississippi Today, "Tate Reeves Bio," July 3, 2019, Vote Smart, "Tate Reeves' Biography," accessed September 7, 2023

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Governor of Mississippi in 2023.

Brandon Presley

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Mississippi Public Service Commission - Northern District (Assumed office: 2008)
Mayor of Nettleton, Mississippi (2001-2007)

Biography: Presley graduated from Harvard University’s Kennedy School program for State and Local Government Executives. As of the election, Presley served on the advisory committee for New Mexico’s State University Center for Public Utilities and on the Electric Power Research Institute’s Advisory Council. He was elected president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in 2019.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Presley tweeted, "I’m a tax-cutter. As Mayor of Nettleton, I cut taxes and balanced the budget. As your governor, I’m going to do the same thing. Cut car tag fees in half, Eliminate the grocery tax, Support hardworking families."

Speaking on healthcare reforms, Presley said, "Hospitals cutting services and closing each week is not normal. ... If I were governor right now, I wouldn’t rest until we found a solution." He also said, "When we expand Medicaid, 220,000 Mississippians will gain access to affordable healthcare."

In reference to Reeves being lieutenant governor during Mississippi's welfare scandal, Presley proposed "enacting new policies so that the largest corruption scandal in state history doesn’t happen again and strengthening the Ethics Commission so Mississippians have an independent watchdog they can be proud of."

Show sources

Sources: Twitter, "Brandon Presley," September 5, 2023, Twitter, "Brandon Presley," September 3, 2023, Twitter, "Brandon Presley," September 3, 2023, Brandon Presley for Governor, "Brandon Presley Pledges To Clean Up Tate Reeves’ Corruption On First 'Grit and Guts' Tour Stop," August 17, 2023; Brandon Presley for Governor, "Brandon's Story," accessed September 7, 2023

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Governor of Mississippi in 2023.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign ads

Tate Reeves

November 1, 2023

October 31, 2023

October 31, 2023

View more ads here:

Brandon Presley

October 24, 2023

October 18, 2023

October 6, 2023

View more ads here:

Debates and forums

This section includes links to debates, forums, and other similar events where multiple candidates in this race participated. If you are aware of any debates or forums that should be included, please email us.

November 1, 2023

Reeves and Presley participated in a debate hosted by WAPT-TV.^[29]

Click here to watch the debate

Click on the links below for a summary of the event:

Mississippi Today
AP

October 26, 2023

Reeves and Presley participated in the Mississippi Economic Council's 2023 Hobnob at the Mississippi Coliseum.^[30]

Click on the link below for a summary of the event:

Mississippi Today

September 15, 2023

Reeves and Presley participated in a candidate forum at the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum.^[31]

Click on the link below for a summary of the event:

Daily Journal

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.^[32] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."^[33] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

Below we provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval.

Governor of Mississippi, 2023: General election polls
Poll	Date	Reeves	Presley	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size^[34]	Sponsor^[35]
Magnolia Tribune/Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy	Sept. 27-Oct. 2	51%	43%	6%^[36]	± 4.0	625	Magnolia Tribune
Mississippi Today/Siena College	Aug. 20-28	52%	41%	6%^[37]	± 4.0	650	Mississippi Today
Mississippi Today/Siena College	April 16-20	49%	38%	6%^[38]	± 4.3	783	Mississippi Today
Magnolia Tribune/Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy	March 6-10	46%	39%	14%^[39]	± 4.0	625	Magnolia Tribune
Mississippi Today/Siena College	Jan. 8-12	43%	39%	15%^[40]	± 4.6	821	Mississippi Today

General election 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.^[41]
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.^[42]^[43]^[44]

Race ratings: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2023
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 7, 2023	October 31, 2023	October 24, 2023	October 17, 2023
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	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	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Noteworthy endorsements
Endorser	Tate Reeves	Brandon Presley
Government officials
State Rep. Angela Cockerham ^source	✔
Individuals
Frmr. Gubernatorial Candidate Gwendolyn Gray ^source		✔
Frmr. U.S. Rep. Paul Michael Parker ^source		✔
Frmr. President Donald Trump ^source	✔
Newspapers and editorials
NEMiss.News ^source		✔
The Daily Mississippian ^source		✔
The Dispatch ^source		✔
Organizations
Mississippi Association of Realtors ^source	✔
National Federation of Independent Business ^source	✔
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ^source		✔

Election spending

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from candidates submitted to the Mississippi Secretary of State in this election. It does not include information on spending by satellite groups. Click here to access the reports.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Spending news

ActBlue Mississippi spent $256,321.43 supporting Brandon Presley.
Friends of Mississippi Hospitals PAC spent $250,000 supporting Brandon Presley.
MADA Auto PAC spent $20,000 supporting Tate Reeves.
Motorola Solutions, Inc. Political Action Committee spent $1,500 supporting Tate Reeves.
NextEra Energy, Inc. Political Action Committee spent $4,000 supporting Tate Reeves.

Election context

Ballot access requirements

For party candidates

See statutes: Title 23, Chapter 15, Article 11, Section 297 of the Mississippi Code

A candidate seeking the nomination of his or her party for federal or state office (including seats in the Mississippi State Legislature) must submit a statement of intent to his or her party and pay a filing fee, also to be submitted to the party. The statement of intent is a form prescribed by the Mississippi Secretary of State that must include the name and address of the candidate, the party with which the candidate is affiliated, and the office being sought. The deadline for receipt of these materials by the state executive committee of the party is set by state statutes as 5:00 p.m. on March 1 in the year of the election.^[45]

Mississippi law directly sets filing fees for some elected offices, while authorizing political party committees to determine fees for other offices within statutory limits:^[46]^[47]^[48]

Filing fees
Office	Fee
Governor, United States Senator	Political party state executive committees determine the fee between $1,000 and $5,000.
Lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, insurance commissioner, commissioner of agriculture and commerce, public service commissioner, state highway commissioner, United States Representative	Political party state executive committees determine the fee between $500 and $2,500.
State senator, state representative	$250

For independent candidates

See statutes: Title 23, Chapter 15, Article 13, Part B of the Mississippi Code

Independent candidates for federal or state office (including seats in the Mississippi State Legislature) must petition to appear on the general election ballot. The form of petitions is prescribed by the Mississippi Secretary of State, and completed petitions must be submitted to the Mississippi Secretary of State by 5:00 p.m. on March 1 in the year of the election. Signature requirements are as follows:^[46]

Petition signature requirements
Office	Required signatures
For offices elected by the state at large (e.g., United States Senator, governor, attorney general, etc.)	At least 1,000 signatures
For an office elected by congressional district (e.g., United States Representative)	At least 200 signatures
For an office elected by state senatorial or representative district (e.g., State senator, state representative)	At least 50 signatures

The petition must be accompanied by a qualifying statement of intent (a form prescribed by the Mississippi Secretary of State similar to the statement of intent filed by party candidates). Petition signatures must be verified by the appropriate circuit clerk in the county in which signatures were collected before being submitted to the Mississippi Secretary of State for final approval. Independent candidates must also pay filing fees as follows:^[46]^[49]

Filing fees
Office	Fee
Governor, United States Senator	$1,000
Lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, insurance commissioner, commissioner of agriculture and commerce, public service commissioner, state highway commissioner, United States Representative	$500
State senator, state representative	$250

For write-in candidates

The relevant statutes do not indicate that write-in candidates must file any special paperwork or pay any filing fees in order to have their votes tallied.