Publication slightly shifts its prediction for Mississippi Governor race

The Cook Political Report moved its prediction slightly more left after the announcement that democrat Brandon Presley would run for the office. Low approval ratings for incumbent governor Tate Reeves also contributed to the change.

Jessica Taylor is the Senate and Governors Editor for the Cook Political Report. She says that sitting governors are often difficult to defeat in elections, but this race may be getting more attention and support from the Democrat Party nationally.

"The races that happened this year are, you know, three Southern states Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi... nothing's gonna knock Kentucky off of [being] national democrats' top priority defending Andy Bashir there." she said. "I think the question is, is Mississippi moving up to their second-best option? And I think that's a real possibility."

While the shift is a good sign for Democrats, it doesn't necessarily mean that Reeves will lose or come close to losing. Taylor says some of the reasons for the shift are Presley's strength as a candidate and how Reeves is presiding over some scandals and controversies in the state.

"Mississippi is obviously a state that deals with a lot of really extreme poverty, and [Presley] seems to understand that," she said. "and then you have the issues going on with welfare... Medicaid expansion in the state as well. There's enough issues there that that I think could complicate this for Reeves."

The party primaries for Governor will be held in August.