- Mississippi elects its governor Tuesday night, in a contest that is the first competitive statewide race in well over a decade.
- Despite a serious challenge from the state's four-term Democratic Attorney General, DDHQ has called the race in favor of the favored Lieutenant Governor.
- This page will have live, constantly updated results all night until the last votes are in.
- Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves wss favored in this race, but Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood had been a stronger contender in polling than Mississippi's red-state reputation would lead you to believe.
- Hood was first elected attorney general in 2003 and has been in office for four consecutive terms. He is an unconventional Democrat as a pro-life, pro-firearm public official.
- Pay special attention to Hinds County, the most populous in the state, where Jackson is.
- In 2016, Hillary Clinton won 71% of the vote there. Harrison County on the Gulf of Mexico is a large population center where President Donald Trump outcompeted Clinton 2 to 1.
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UPDATE: DDHQ has called the race in favor of Lieutenant Gov. Tate Reeves.
On Tuesday night, one of the most consequential races is in Mississippi, where Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood is running against Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves to win the governorship.
Polls are closed, and we'll have live, up-to-the-minute data on the results of the election streaming in thanks to our partner DDHQ.
Among the reddest-of-the-red states, this Mississippi election has proven surprisingly close. Hood was first elected attorney general in 2003 and has been in office for four consecutive terms. He is an unconventional Democrat as a pro-life, pro-firearm public official.
Despite being traditionally safe GOP territory, the state has merited visits from Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump. Though polling is scant, one reason for the national attention is a Mason-Dixon poll conducted October 17 to 19 that put support for Hood at 43% and Reeves at 46%.
The geography of the state is unique in that while just one in five people live in rural areas in the US overall, 51% of people in Mississippi live in such regions.
As far as larger population centers, three counties are worth keeping an eye on:
- Hinds County in the west, where Jackson is
- Harrison County on the Gulf of Mexico, where Gulfport and Biloxi are
- DeSoto County in the northwest, which contains suburbs of Memphis, Tennessee.
The latter two counties broke for Trump over Hillary Clinton by 2-to-1 margins in 2016 and were be large sources of support for Reeves, while Hinds county was be Hood's nexus of support. It was not enough to put the Democrat over the top in this ruby red state.
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