Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves Defeats Elvis Presley's Democratic Cousin to Win a Second Term

Reeves' challenger, Brandon Presley, is the late singer's second cousin

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves secured a second term in office on Tuesday, defending his seat against an unusually strong challenge from Democrat Brandon Presley, the second cousin of legendary musician Elvis Presley.

"Mississippi has momentum, and this is Mississippi’s time," Reeves told supporters in Flowood, Mississippi, reports the Associated Press.

Presley, 46, was just one point behind Reeves, 49, in polls leading up to Election Day, despite running as a Democrat in a state that's exclusively elected Republican governors in the past two decades. Presley announced his sleeper gubernatorial campaign in January, positioning himself as a self-described "populist, FDR-Billy McCoy Democrat."

Presley also seized on Gov. Reeves' low approval ratings and a long-running welfare scandal in the state, saying that he was running "because I know Mississippi can do better."

Related: Elvis Presley’s Democratic Cousin Woos Mississippi Voters with Anti-Elite Platform in Tight Governor Race

“We’ve got a state filled with good people but horrible politicians — and that includes our governor. Tate Reeves is a man with zero conviction and maximum corruption," Presley said. "He looks out for himself and his rich friends instead of the people that put him into office. And he’s been caught in the middle of the largest public corruption scandal in state history.”

That scandal emerged when it was reported that some $77 million in federal funds intended for Mississippi's low income residents were instead directed to wealthy and politically-connected people in the state between 2017 and 2020.

Reeves has denied any involvement in the scandal, though Mississippi Today reports that at least one of the people being sued by the state to recoup millions in misspent welfare funds is a close personal friend of the governor who had endorsed him in the race.

The outlet further reports that Reeves had a meeting in 2019 with John Davis, the former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, who has since pleaded guilty to federal and state charges in relation to the welfare scandal.

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Presley, meanwhile, also has a history in Mississippi politics, becoming the mayor of Nettleton, Mississippi, at just 23 years old — at the time, the youngest-ever mayor elected in the state. Now an elected public utilities commissioner, Presley recently married Katelyn Mabus, a cousin of former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus.

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