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On Tuesday, Mississippians will vote to elect either Lt. Gov Tate Reeves or Attorney General Jim Hood as the state’s next governor. This campaign season has seen many attacks from both campaigns, as Reeves has attempted to paint Hood as a liberal proponent of a big government, whereas Hood has similarly attempted to characterize Reeves as an ally to special interests and corporations.
Amid the attack ads, both candidates have released policy plans, offering their unique visions for the direction of the state. The Daily Mississippian has compiled a voter guide in advance of Tuesday’s election, with candidate history and policy positions. Voting in the Mississippi gubernatorial election runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Tate Reeves (R):
Fast Facts:
Tate Reeves, 45, is a native of Rankin County. In 2003, at age 29, he was elected as the state treasurer, making him the youngest state treasurer in the nation at the time. Reeves was re-elected in 2007. In 2011, he was elected as Lt. Gov., the position he currently holds. He graduated from Millsaps College with a degree in economics. Reeves defeated both state Rep. Robert Foster and Judge Bill Waller Jr. in Republican primaries.
Policy Positions:
Health Care: He opposes the medicaid expansion in Mississippi and supports a free-market approach to health care.
Education: Reeves supports raising Mississippi teacher pay to the southeastern average ($47,074) in four years, as well as offering a $10,000 bonus for new teachers in areas of shortage — both geographically and subject-based. He’s also proposed a teacher advisory council that would advise the governor on issues teachers currently face by June 2020.
Abortion: Reeves is “100%” anti-abortion. He supports the “heartbeat bill,” which states that if a fetus has a heartbeat, an abortion would be illegal.
Second Amendment: He wants less gun control legislation and a law that dictates that if the federal government were to declare a state of emergency and attempt to seize guns from Mississippi citizens, he would not allow it.
Jim Hood (D):
Fast Facts:
Jim Hood, 57, is a native of New Houlka. Since 2003, he has served as Mississippi’s attorney general and is currently the only Democrat elected to a statewide office. Since then, he has been reelected three times and is currently attempting to be the first Democratic governor in Mississippi since 1999, when Ronnie Musgrove was elected. Hood holds a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi.
Policy Positions:
Health Care: Hood supports the expansion of Medicaid in Mississippi, which would add over $1 billion in federal funds into the state’s healthcare funding. He also supports the expansion of health coverage under Medicaid and the decrease of Medicaid eligibility limits.
Education: He supports implementing a fully-funded, statewide pre-K program as well as investing $31 million into early education programs. Additionally, Hood supports a teacher pay raise of $2,000 over two years and a recalibration of the raise scale. He’s released policy proposals to curtail teacher shortages, including a tuition forgiveness plan for teachers who teach in the state for five years.
Taxation: Hood supports cutting the grocery tax (currently 7%) in half, which he says would save Mississippi families $153 annually on average.
Workforce Training: Hood supports tuition-free community college statewide. His plan states that Mississippi would fill the gap left after federal grants and scholarships. He also supports expanding apprenticeship programs, proposing $5 million to fund 500 new apprenticeships in Mississippi.
Disclaimer: All candidate policy positions were taken from candidate web pages.
