This archive report was first published on 28 August 2019.
On Tuesday, voters in Mississippi will choose the Republican candidate for governor in a runoff election between Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and former Chief Justice William L. Waller.
Reeves, 45, won nearly 49% of the vote in the Republican primary election earlier this month, but failed to achieve a majority, forcing him into the runoff. Waller, 67, captured about 33% of the vote.
The winner will face off in November against Democratic candidate Jim Hood, an anti-abortion, pro-gun populist who could pose a formidable challenge to Republicans in the deeply conservative state.
Mississippi is one of the nation's poorest states, and the campaign for the top elected post has been defined by a tension between conservative orthodoxy and the state's hard realities. Waller has called for raising the state's gas tax to fund infrastructure improvements, a plan supported by some who say it is long overdue.
A study this year from Navigant Consulting found that 31 rural Mississippi hospitals were at 'high financial risk' and facing a high risk of closure. A 2017 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers found that nearly 12% of the state's bridges were 'structurally deficient,' and argued that Mississippi's deteriorating infrastructure was impeding its ability to compete for business.
Reeves has slammed Waller for supporting higher taxes, warning that the United States must choose between a 'slide toward socialism' or keeping the country strong. The ad also compares Waller to Hood, the Democratic candidate, noting that Hood wants to 'expand Obamacare in Mississippi.'
