AP: “Tornadoes clobber Mississippi. Hours later, its governor attends Republican fundraiser in Alabama”
AP: “Tornadoes clobber Mississippi. Hours later, its governor attends Republican fundraiser in Alabama”
A damning new investigation from the Associated Press reveals that on Monday, while Mississippi was grappling with the aftermath of a weekend of deadly tornadoes, Gov. Tate Reeves was out of state for a high-dollar fundraiser.
The AP reports: “Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves traveled to Alabama for a Republican fundraising event as people in his state were still reeling from back-to-back tornadoes that killed one person, injured dozens and destroyed homes and businesses, and in the midst of lingering power outages from severe thunderstorms.”
“When Mississippi needed leadership after a weekend of deadly storms, Gov. Reeves was out of state hobnobbing with wealthy and well-connected donors,”said DGA Deputy Communications Director Izzi Levy. “At every turn, Reeves has put himself and his political cronies first and Mississippians have suffered as a result. Reeves must explain why he chose to abandon his responsibilities and turn his back on his state in the midst of this deadly disaster.”
Read more about Gov. Reeves’ out-of-state fundraising in the wake of a deadly disaster:
- Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves traveled to Alabama for a Republican fundraising event as people in his state were still reeling from back-to-back tornadoes that killed one person, injured dozens and destroyed homes and businesses, and in the midst of lingering power outages from severe thunderstorms.
- Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Reeves headlined a Republican Governors Association fundraiser on Monday at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Birmingham, according to an invitation obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. Ticket prices ranged from $5,000 for one person to $50,000 for four people.
- Reeves is policy chairperson for the RGA and is seeking a second term as governor this year. His campaign manager Elliott Husbands said in response to questions Tuesday that the event was planned long ago, and money raised there was not earmarked for any specific campaign. Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi have the only governor’s races this year.
- Brandon Presley, Mississippi’s northern district public service commissioner, is the Democratic nominee for governor. His campaign communications director, Michael Beyer, on Tuesday criticized Reeves for attending the Republican Governors Association event.
- “It is no surprise to see Tate Reeves leave the state for a fundraiser in the middle of storm recovery — when given a choice between rubbing elbows with the wealthy and well-connected or speaking face-to-face with Mississippians who have had their lives upended by this storm, he will always go after the money,” Beyer said. “If it would mean furthering himself, Tate Reeves would go to Antarctica for a campaign check.”
- Thousands of people have been sweating without air-conditioning since severe thunderstorms knocked out electrical service last week in central Mississippi.
- A tornado that struck Jasper County in eastern Mississippi overnight Sunday to Monday killed one person, injured nearly two dozen people and damaged more than 70 homes. Later Monday, another tornado struck coastal Jackson County. It injured six people and damaged about 100 structures. The city of Moss Point was hardest hit.
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