With Two Weeks Before the Republican Primary, Reeves Lowers Expectations

Reeves: “It’s hard to get to 50.”

Before he even steps on the debate stage tonight, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves has set a new low bar for himself: for the first time he is publicly floating the possibility of a runoff in two weeks.
Who can blame Reeves for lowering expectations? He is battling his own party on Medicaid reform and faces questions about a self-serving deal that paved a road to his own gated community.
Don’t expect Reeves to get a pass in this debate from the Republicans on stage. Reeves has angered grassroots GOP activists in the state and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Waller “exceeded” fundraising expectations and has several ads on TV right now. Waller even changed his campaign strategy to ratchet up attacks against Reeves when he saw how well-received the attacks were on the campaign trail.
Reeves is now openly acknowledging his worst nightmare: this messy primary will continue into a runoff.
“Reeves is riding into tonight’s debate on his own low expectations,” said DGA Communications Director David Turner. “Reeves will have a tough time defending his record of denying health care to 313,000 Mississippians and his role in pushing a frontage road project to his own neighborhood. No matter how low Reeves sets expectations, Mississippi voters will see Reeves as the same self-serving politician who only cares about himself.”