Gubernatorial races in Mississippi and Louisiana will show whether the states’ deep Republican leanings are strong enough to hold back Democratic candidates with strong support in the polls ahead of Election Day.
Mississippi voters on Tuesday will decide on a successor to Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, who must leave office after eight years due to term limits. Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, 45, is the Republican nominee and has the support of President Trump, who rallied voters in Mississippi on Saturday.
Bryant won reelection in 2015 by a 34-point margin, but Democrats have a shot this year with state Attorney General Jim Hood, 57, who after four terms in the post is a proven vote-getter in the otherwise strongly Republican state. Hood is the only Democrat presently holding statewide office.
The governor’s race is the tightest in Mississippi in years, with Reeves barely ahead by 3 percentage points, according to a survey by Mason Dixon polling.
However, public sentiment on impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives could make House Democrats’ investigation of Trump an asset for the Mississippi gubernatorial nominee. The poll shows 56% of Mississippians are against impeaching and removing Trump from office.
In neighboring Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, 53, is trying to hold back a challenge from Republican businessman Eddie Rispone. Trump in mid-October rallied Republican voters in Louisiana to vote for GOP candidates in the all-party primary, which helped keep Edwards from winning outright with more than 50%. Nabbing 47% in his bid for a second term, Edwards was forced into a Nov. 16 runoff with Rispone, the second-place finisher.
Trump has already cut an ad for Rispone, 70, and plans to rally Louisiana voters on behalf of him in Monroe on Wednesday.
A Nextstar poll shows both Edwards and Rispone in a virtual tie. Additionally, the poll shows voters in the state give Trump a 52% job approval rating and oppose the House impeachment proceedings by a 54-36% margin.
However, history is playing against Edwards, as no incumbent Louisiana governor has ever won reelection after being forced into a runoff.
[Read more: Tight Kentucky governor race could spell trouble for McConnell]
