Current:Home > NewsMississippi governor says he wants young people to stop leaving the state-LoTradeCoin
Mississippi governor says he wants young people to stop leaving the state
View Date:2024-12-23 20:53:00
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Republican Gov. Tate Reeves used the theme “Mississippi Forever” on Tuesday as he was inaugurated for his second term, saying he wants to curb the trend of young people leaving to pursue careers in other places.
“For too many decades, Mississippi’s most valuable export has not been our cotton or even our culture. It’s been our kids,” Reeves told lawmakers, state officials and several international diplomats during a ceremony outside the state Capitol on a chilly, blustery day.
He said people from Mississippi hold prominent positions in government, business and entertainment.
“They made other places better, and we missed out on all they could have done here at home,” he said.
Reeves, 49, campaigned last year by focusing on tax cuts, job creation, low unemployment and improvements in education. He also cast his Democratic opponent as a liberal backed by out-of-state donors who were out of step with Mississippi.
Reeves held two other statewide elected offices before becoming governor four years ago. He served two terms as treasurer and two as lieutenant governor.
The state lifted its ban on gubernatorial succession in the 1980s, and Reeves is the fourth Mississippi governor to win two consecutive terms. Republicans have held the Mississippi governorship the past 20 years.
The November general election was unusually competitive in a state where Republicans control all statewide offices and both chambers of the Legislature.
Reeves received nearly 51% of the vote to defeat Democrat Brandon Presley, who received nearly 48%, and independent Gwendolyn Gray, who received just over 1%.
Presley, a state utility regulator and second cousin of Elvis Presley, said Reeves had hurt the state by refusing to expand Medicaid to cover people working lower-wage jobs that do not provide health insurance. Presley pledged to clean up corruption, pointing to welfare money that was spent on pet projects for the wealthy and well-connected rather than aid for some of the poorest people in one of the poorest states in the nation.
veryGood! (6844)
Related
- 15 new movies you'll want to stream this holiday season, from 'Emilia Perez' to 'Maria'
- 2 minor earthquakes recorded overnight in Huntington Park, Lake Pillsbury, California
- After 2-year-old girl shoots self, man becomes first person charged under Michigan’s gun storage law
- FuboTV files lawsuit over ESPN, Fox, Hulu, Warner Bros. Discovery sports-streaming venture
- Kim Kardashian Says She's Raising Her and Kanye West's 4 Kids By Herself
- Apple says not to put wet iPhones in uncooked rice. Here's what to do instead.
- Blake Lively Reveals She Just Hit This Major Motherhood Milestone With 4 Kids
- Attrition vs. tradition: After heavy losses, Tampa Bay Rays hope to defy odds yet again
- Could trad wives, influencers have sparked the red wave among female voters?
- This Kylie Cosmetics Lip Butter Keeps My Perpetually Chapped Lips Smooth All Day & It Smells Amazing
Ranking
- Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger welcome their first son together
- Jury selection begins for trial of “Rust” armorer in fatal 2021 shooting by Alec Baldwin
- Florida Legislature passes bill to release state grand jury’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation
- Why Khloe Kardashian Missed the People’s Choice Awards Over This Health Concern
- Solawave Black Friday Sale: Don't Miss Buy 1, Get 1 Free on Age-Defying Red Light Devices
- Attrition vs. tradition: After heavy losses, Tampa Bay Rays hope to defy odds yet again
- Iowa school district paying $20K to settle gender policy lawsuit
- Beyoncé becomes first Black woman to claim top spot on Billboard’s country music chart
Recommendation
-
2025 NFL Draft order: Updated first round picks after Week 10 games
-
Greta Gerwig says 'Barbie' movie success 'was not guaranteed'
-
Cocaine washes ashore near mystery shipwreck that caused massive oil spill in Trinidad and Tobago
-
2 men charged with murder in shooting at Kansas City Chiefs parade that killed 1, injured 22
-
Will Trump curb transgender rights? After election, community prepares for worst
-
Widow, ex-prime minister, former police chief indicted in 2021 assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse
-
Summer House's Carl Radke Addresses Drug Accusation Made by Ex Lindsay Hubbard
-
Harvard condemns student and faculty groups for posting antisemitic cartoon