Gov. Tate Reeves used his speech at the Neshoba County Fair on Thursday to tout recent economic successes while asserting that voters need to elect Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump if they want to see economic momentum continue in Mississippi.
The Republican governor lauded roughly $15 billion in private investments that have occurred since his last stump speech at Founder’s Square in August 2023. Developments such as the $10 billion data center project by Amazon Web Services in Madison County as well as a $1.9 billion electric battery production plant in Marshall County were examples Reeves used throughout the speech.
The AWS announcement, which first came in January, broke the record for the largest private-sector investment Mississippi has ever seen while the EV battery plant jointly fronted by three companies is poised to be the largest payroll commitment in state history. A total of 3,000 collective jobs are expected to come from both projects.
“Our great state has been breaking records over and over,” Reeves told a GOP-heavy crowd. “These victories were no accident. They were the diagrammed product of conservative strategy and a vision focused on economic growth and reform.”
Other achievements Reeves noted as economic drivers were the largest-ever tax cut in state history – although he argued income tax still needs to be fully eliminated – and the record-breaking teacher pay raise, both of which occurred in 2022.
Under the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act, $525 million in tax cuts is being phased in through 2026. Additionally, the 5% tax bracket is being phased down to 4% by 2026. For educators in Mississippi, the START Act raised the base teacher salary by an average of $5,140 while adding more built-in bonuses.
“That’s more money in your wallets because I believe you know how to spend your money better than any governmental entity ever will,” Reeves said.
As Reeves vowed to keep working with the GOP-led Mississippi Legislature, he contended that there is one thing voters can do to ensure the state sees future economic success: cast a ballot for Trump on Nov. 5.
He maintained that putting Trump, who served as president from 2016-2020, back in the Oval Office would yield lower grocery and fuel prices while simultaneously cultivating an even more business-friendly environment in Mississippi.
“We see it at the grocery store, and we see it at the gas pump. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have steered the national economy into the ditch, and we have to fight every day against their headwinds,” Reeves said. “Together, with our support, Donald Trump is going to usher in a new era of unprecedented prosperity and all of our lives will be better because of it.”
While Reeves doubled down on his endorsement of Trump, he did note that beating presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will not be easy.
Gov. Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) doubled down on his endorsement of Donald Trump on Thursday at the Neshoba County Fair but noted that “it’s going to be hard” to beat Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/bwCqtAHmCy
— SuperTalk News (@SuperTalkNews) August 1, 2024
“Look, it’s going to be hard. There’s no doubt in my mind. If any Republican across the country is sitting somewhere today believing that we’re not all going to have to work hard between now and Election Day, then they’re thinking the wrong way,” Reeves said. “I don’t like to say that I’m ever getting nervous or anything like that, but we better work hard. If we don’t work hard, we’re going to find our way in a difficult spot.”
Even though Trump is expected to win the Magnolia State for the third consecutive presidential cycle, Reeves encouraged Mississippians to reach out to friends in swing states such as Arizona and Georgia and ask them to vote for Trump.
