Five Mississippi statewide candidates report over a million dollars in their coffers

See where statewide and commission candidates stand in their latest campaign finance reporting for January through April this year.

Candidates for state offices in this year’s Mississippi elections were required to file their January through April 2023 campaign finance reports with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office by May 10th.

Below is a quick recap of the latest campaign finance filings from each statewide and state commission candidate. Click on the candidate’s name to be redirected to the filing. Some reports have either not been filed or are not yet loaded on the Secretary of State’s website.

It should be noted that five statewide candidates in Mississippi have over a million dollars in their campaign coffers. Republican incumbents Governor Tate Reeves, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, Attorney General Lynn Fitch, and State Auditor Shad White each reported over a million, with Reeves leading the way with over $9 million. Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current Northern District PSC Commissioner Brandon Presley is the only Mississippi Democrat reporting over a million dollars cash on hand with $1.6 million.

In reviewing the reports, it is easy to see that, at least at this juncture, the real races to watch this election cycle are in the Governor, Lt. Governor and Public Service Commission contests.

Governor

Governor Tate Reeves holds a significant advantage over all other candidates in the gubernatorial race, bringing in over $1.7 million to push his campaign cash on hand to over $9 million. Reeves’ largest donor this period was John J. Morgan with the Morgan White Group for a total of $40,000.

By comparison, Democratic frontrunner Brandon Presley took in $1.4 million to open the year and now sits on $1.6 million cash on hand. According to his report, Presley’s largest donation this period came from Jim Barksdale for a total of $50,000. Other notable donors to Presley included personal injury lawyer Richard Schwartz, who gave $15,000, and former lawyers Dickie and Zach Scruggs, who gave a combined $15,000.

Notably absent from Presley’s filing is the $250,000 that was confirmed to have been sent to his campaign by the Mississippi Hospital Association’s PAC prior to the end of April.

• Republican
  • Tate Reeves (Incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $1.7 million
    • Cash on hand: $9 million
  • John Witcher
    • Raised this period: $21,000
    • Cash on hand: $13,000
  • David Grady Hardigree
    • No New Report Showing
• Democrat
  • Brandon Presley
    • Raised this period: $1.4 million
    • Cash on hand: $1.6 million
  • Bob Hickingbottom
    • No New Report Showing
  • Gregory Wash
    • No New Report Showing
• Independent
  • Gwendolyn Gray
    • Raised this period: $12,000
    • Cash on hand: $1,000

Lt. Governor

Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann opens the year with over 10 times the cash on hand as that of his only real opponent this cycle, State Senator Chris McDaniel. While the current reports would suggest that McDaniel outraised Hosemann in this period, questions have been raised about the completeness and accuracy of McDaniel’s report. The filing did not include the standard itemized list of contributions and disbursements. Hosemann has a considerable advantage in cash-on-hand.

• Republican
  • Delbert Hosemann (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $193,000
    • Cash on hand: $3.3 million
  • Chris McDaniel
    • Raised this period: $678,000
    • Cash on hand: $336,000
  • Tiffany Longino
    • Raised this period: $700
    • Cash on hand: $200
  • Shane Quick
    • Raised this period: $0
    • Cash on hand: $0
• Democrat
  • D. Ryan Grover
    • Raised this period: $0
    • Cash on hand: $0

Attorney General

• Republican
  • Lynn Fitch (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $226,000
    • Cash on hand: $1.1 million
• Democrat
  • Greta Martin
    • Raised this period: $39.000
    • Cash on hand: $21,000

Secretary of State

• Republican
  • Michael Watson (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $144,000
    • Cash on hand: $810,000
• Democrat
  • Shuwaski Young
    • Raised this period: $5,000
    • Cash on hand: $250

State Treasurer

• Republican
  • David McRae (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $79,000
    • Cash on hand: $205,000
• Democrat
  • Addie Green
    • No New Report Showing

Agriculture & Commerce Commissioner

• Republican
  • Andy Gipson
    • Raised this period: $75,000
    • Cash on hand: $196,000
• Democrat
  • Robert Bradford
    • Raised this period: $0
    • Cash on hand: $0
  • Bethany Hill
    • Raised this period: $800
    • Cash on hand: $500
  • Robert Briggs
    • No New Report Showing
  • Terry Rogers
    • Raised this period: $500
    • Cash on hand: $70

State Auditor

• Republican
  • Shad White (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $294,000
    • Cash on hand: $1.6 million
• Democrat
  • Larry Bradford
    • Raised this period: $0
    • Cash on hand: $50

Insurance Commissioner

• Republican
  • Mike Chaney (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $174,000
    • Cash on hand: $333,000
  • Mitch Young
    • Raised this period: $500
    • Cash on hand: $0
• Democrat
  • Bruce Burton
    • No New Report Showing

Public Service Commissioners

Northern District

• Republican
  • Mandy Gunasekara
    • Raised this period: $74,000
    • Cash on hand: $113,000
  • Chris Brown
    • No New Report Showing
  • Tanner Newman
    • No New Report Showing

Central District

• Republican
  • Brent Bailey (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $8,000
    • Cash on hand: $28,000
• Democrat
  • Dekeither Stamps
    • No New Report Showing

Southern District

• Republican
  • Dane Maxwell (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $1,000
    • Cash on hand: $23,000
  • Nelson Wayne Carr
    • Raised this period: $47,000
    • Cash on hand: $7,000

Transportation Commissioners

Northern District

• Republican
  • John Caldwell (incumbent)
    • Raised this period: $10,000
    • Cash on hand: $115,000

Central District

• Republican
  • Rickey Pennington Jr.
    • No New Report Showing
• Democrat
  • Willie Simmons (incumbent)
    • No New Report Showing

Southern District

• Republican
  • Charles Busby
    • Raised this period: $21,000
    • Cash on hand: $191,000
• Independent
  • Steven Brian Griffin
    • Raised this period: $25,000
    • Cash on hand: $18,000

The next round of campaign finance reports are due June 9th for the May 1 through May 31 period. Another reporting will be due July 10th for the month of June in the lead up to the August 8th Primary Election Day.

This article was updated to note concerns over the finance report filed by the McDaniel campaign for Lt. Governor.