Elvis Presley’s great-nephew, Democrat Brandon Presley, told supporters he called and conceded to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves during the closely watched Misssissippi gubernatorial race.
Networks had yet to call the race, but Presley trailed the incumbent governor by about 50,000 votes. It was later called by the Associated Press.
The 46-year-old public services commissioner was the first Democrat in years to look like he could make a dent in Republicans’ hold on the Mississippi governor’s mansion.
‘We didn’t win, they did. But we have captured the hearts and souls of hundreds of thousands of Mississippians,” Presley told his supporters, according to CNN. “Unfortunately, it seems like we’ve fallen a little short and I just spoke with Governor Reeves. We congratulated him on his victory.’
Votes came in slowly in Mississippi’s heavily Democratic Hinds County, creating the impression for hours that Presley could catch up to Reeves’ lead.
Democrat Brandon Presley told supporters late Tuesday that he had called on Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to concede the Mississippi governor’s race, failing to shock the country with a Democratic victory in a deep-red state .
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves high-fives a supporter as he celebrates victory over Democrat Brandon Presley on Tuesday night
Ahead of Tuesday’s off-year elections, Presley gained attention thanks to his famous last name, the support of best-selling author John Grisham and his ability to defeat Reeves, who was embroiled in a scandal along with retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre. .
Presley was born into poverty just three weeks before Elvis died in 1977.
He grew up (and still lives in his childhood home) in the town of Nettleton, Mississippi.
“My cousin grew up down the road in Tupelo. You’ve probably heard of him,” Presley said in his announcement video, holding up a photo of The King.
The candidate’s grandfather, Noah, was the brother of Elvis’ grandfather Jesse.
The family tragedy continued during Presley’s childhood, when his alcoholic father was murdered on the first day of third grade and his uncle, Sheriff Harold Ray Presley, was killed in the line of duty.
His mother raised him and often had trouble paying the bills.
Mississippi’s Republican governor, Tate Reeves (right), was successful in fending off a challenge from Democrat Brandon Presley, Elvis Presley’s great-nephew. He will be interviewed on Tuesday on election day together with his wife Elee
Mississippi Democratic governor hopeful Brandon Presley holds up a photo of his second cousin, Elvis Presley, in a video announcing his campaign
“Growing up here, we could see through the floor, straight down into the mud,” Presley said in his introductory video. “She was our rock and never made us feel as poor as we really were.”
After college, Presley returned to Nettleton and ran for mayor. He won the race and, at age 23, became the youngest mayor in the state’s history.
He then served as Public Service Commissioner for the Northern District of the Mississippi Public Service Commission, where he first appeared on the ballot in 2007 and last won re-election in 2019.
Reeves served as lieutenant governor before being elected in 2019.
He, like his Republican predecessor, Gov. Phil Bryant, was swept up in the $77 million welfare scandal that also ensnared Favre.
Reeves has denied any wrongdoing, but there are indications that he spoke to Favre about using public money to build a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi in the early months of 2020, when he had just taken office.
More recently The Daily Beast published an expose about Reeves’ spending on the governor’s mansion, which included an architectural feature for lemon trees and a meditation garden.
Although Presley used these scandals in attack ads, they did not do enough to damage Reeves in the heavily Republican state.
No Democrat has been elected governor in Mississippi this century, the last time being in 1999.