On Politics

Mon Nov 6 2023

Marina Pitofsky | Associate Editor/Politics

Hi OnPolitics readers! Americans across the country will head to the ballot box tomorrow to make their voices heard. While voters will be weighing in on ballot measures, legislative races and more, one governor's race could send a strong signal ahead of 2024.

Democrats looking to regain long-lost political ground in the South have a unique opportunity this week: In Mississippi, of all places, USA TODAY's David Jackson reports.

🔴 A GOP stronghold? Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley is making a surprisingly strong run at incumbent GOP Gov. Tate Reeves in one of the most Republican states in the nation, much less the South.

While Presley remains the underdog, the distant relation to Elvis Presley hasn't hurt his candidacy.

❓ Is Mississippi the next Georgia? The race between Presley and Reeves comes as Democrats nationwide are looking for "the next Georgia," a Republican-leaning Southern state that flips back to the Democrats, just as Georgia did in 2020 and 2022.

While experts told USA TODAY that Mississippi probably isn't right for that role, Angie Maxwell, director of the Diane Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society at the University of Arkansas, said "The fact that it's even close is a huge shift in Mississippi."