Opinion: To become Mississippi's next governor, Brandon Presley must bridge the rural-urban divide

Presley grew up down the road from Elvis's
Tupelo home. (Brandon Presley photo)

Mississippi gubernatorial nominee Brandon Presley is looking to be the state's first Democratic governor in nearly 20 years, but to do so he'll have to win over rural voters. In his playbook, he's got an "unassailable working-class background and strong stances on popular issues," writes Jeffery H. Bloodworth in his opinion for The Daily Yonder. Plus, he's Elvis Presley's second cousin, which can't hurt. Still, the 46-year-old hopeful faces an uphill climb that begins and ends with bridging the rural-urban divide.

Winning over rural voters is key to Presley's success, but getting enough Mississippi voters to believe that today's Democrat could be a rural advocate while swaying the white-Republican vote may require herculean efforts. Currently, the state is a Republican stronghold. And the "race will be decided by rural voters, a Republican-leaning demographic. Sixty-five of Mississippi's 82 counties are designated as rural (using the nonmetropolitan definition), and more than half of the state population, 54%, qualify as the same." 

Presley is challenging GOP incumbent Tate Reeves, whose run as governor has been rocky. "Gov. Tate Reeves has faced a litany of unprecedented problems in his first term as Mississippi governor: a bitter fight for power with legislative leaders, turmoil and scandal within multiple state agencies, consistent staff turnover, costly natural disasters, and a life-disrupting pandemic," reports Adam Ganucheau of Mississippi Today, a nonprofit Mississippi news service. Bloodworth adds, "Presley’s prospects go beyond an unpopular incumbent. Every observer of any political stripe agrees that he is a one-of-a-kind political talent. Brannon Miller, a longtime state political hand, calls him Mississippi’s 'best retail politician.”

Presley is also equipped with a biography straight from a Hollywood script. Second cousins with Elvis, "Presley was born dirt poor," Bloodworth writes. ". . .  .At age 8, his alcoholic father was murdered. Thereafter, his single mom struggled to provide for him and his two siblings, Greta and Greg. The family regularly lived without electricity, running water, or a phone."

Despite Reeves' outsized problems and unpopularity, as a Republican, he's been able to hold onto many white voters. "From the 1960s through the late 1990s, Mississippi Democrats maintained control through a tenuous bi-racial coalition," Bloodworth explains. "This coalition fell apart in the early 2000s. Today, 90% of white Mississippians vote Republican. Black Mississippians vote Democratic at the same rate. To win, Presley must win a quarter of the white vote, which is overwhelmingly rural, and elicit a strong black turnout."