Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is ready for his next political run if campaign money in hand means anything. Mississippi’s statewide elected officials and legislators filed campaign finance annual reports this week.

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Here are summaries for statewide officials:

• Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, who is term limited, transferred his campaign cash last year to a political action committee called Imagine Mississippi PAC. In the annual report, Bryant’s PAC reported $220,000 in spending in 2017, including donations to several Republican politicians and political candidates. The PAC reported $543,211.66 cash on hand.

• Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who is eyeing a 2019 gubernatorial run, raised $1.2 million and spent $173,000 in 2017. Much of that spending was on temporary staffing and printing of campaign materials. He also donated $2,000 to the campaign of newly elected Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer. Reeves’ total cash on hand is $5.4 million, by far the most of any politician in Mississippi.

• Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat who is also eyeing a 2019 gubernatorial run, raised $662,500 and spent $305,000 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $656,000.

• Republican Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who many believe could run for governor or lieutenant governor in 2019, raised $674,000 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $2.0 million.

• Republican Treasurer Lynn Fitch raised $70,000 in 2017, but she spent $87,000, bringing her total cash on hand to $49,000.

• Republican Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney raised $150,000 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $261,000.

• Republican Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Cindy Hyde-Smith raised $51,000 in 2017, bringing her total cash on hand to $213,000.

• Republican Auditor Stacey Pickering raised $3,288 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $30,000.

• Republican Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert raised $13,000 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $151,000.

• Republican Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall raised $90,000 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $165,000.

• Republican Transportation Commissioner Tom King raised $22,000 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $124,000.

• Democratic Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley raised $13,500 in 2017 but spent the same amount, leaving his total cash on hand at $448.

• Democratic Public Service Commissioner Cecil Brown raised $0 in 2017 but spent $37,000, dropping his cash on hand to $16,000.

• Republican Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton raised $6,000 in 2017, bringing his total cash on hand to $7,500.


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Adam Ganucheau, as Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief, oversees the newsroom and works with the editorial team to fulfill our mission of producing high-quality journalism in the public interest. Adam has covered politics and state government for Mississippi Today since February 2016. A native of Hazlehurst, Adam has worked as a staff reporter for AL.com, The Birmingham News and The Clarion-Ledger and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Adam earned his bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Mississippi.