Mississippi
Is a Democrat headed for the Mississippi governor’s mansion?
![Is a Democrat headed for the Mississippi governor’s mansion? Is a Democrat headed for the Mississippi governor’s mansion?](https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/ReevesTate_091522_AP_Rogelio-V-Solis.jpg?w=1280)
Now that you just all have positioned your Tremendous Bowl bets and don’t wish to be a chalk-eater, right here’s a great underdog wager: A Democrat will win the Mississippi governor’s race this 12 months.
Yeah, sounds loopy.
The deep-red Magnolia State went overwhelmingly for Donald Trump, hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1976, for a U.S. Senator in 40 years — and never for a Democratic governor in virtually 1 / 4 century.
However incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves isn’t extremely popular. A Siena school ballot final month confirmed 57 % would like another person, and Reeves barely leads the Democratic candidate, Brandon Presley — it’s inside the margin of error.
Presley is a compelling candidate with promising points. The Republican-dominated state authorities has created an enormous scandal, ripping off cash meant for poor folks to provide to political supporters. The state has one among America’s worst well being care techniques.
An thrilling and enterprising digital information website, Mississippi At this time, is giving these entrenched politicians and rip-off artists nightmares with its scoops. It was based by Andy Lack, the previous chairman of NBC Information.
Presley could also be uniquely suited to the second. He has been a really efficient and common state utility regulator, voting towards price hikes and saving consumers billions. Republicans can have a tough time portray him as a left-wing Bernie Bro. Presley lives in a small city, in the same house where he grew up. He’s pro-life and pro-gun, requisites in Mississippi.
“Brandon is the perfect candidate Democrats have had in a few years,” says Curtis Wilkie, a famend nationwide political reporter earlier than returning virtually 20 years in the past to show writing and journalism at his alma mater, Ole Miss. Wilkie informed me, “He’s a bona fide populist, not a phony like Trump; he’s somebody who’ll kick ass with huge time folks on behalf of little folks.”
Presley made his announcement at a rural hospital that needed to shut. He careworn his deep Mississippi roots going again to “Mama” raising three kids, educating at a church faculty after dropping her job at a garment manufacturing unit. His father, an alcoholic, was murdered when he was within the third grade. Earlier, he was mayor of Nettleton, 15 miles from the hometown of the state’s most well-known native son, his cousin Elvis.
He careworn the tragic state of well being care: Mississippi has one of many highest percentages of uninsured within the nation and ranks close to the underside in well being care entry and outcomes. The state’s well being care commissioner warns that 28 rural hospitals are in severe hazard of closing.
A significant component is the governor’s refusal to hitch the Inexpensive Well being Care Act’s Medicaid enlargement; it’s one now of solely eleven states to reject this federal help.
The Siena survey says 80 % of Mississippians wish to settle for Medicaid enlargement. The governor, nonetheless, prices that, like “Obamacare,” that is “socialism,” socialized drugs.
Presley counters that it could herald about $1 billion to the state to supply higher protection to as many as 300,000 Mississippians — and hold open most of the imperiled rural hospitals.
Already this 12 months, the GOP-dominated state legislature refused to even enable a debate, a lot much less a vote, on Medicaid enlargement; it’s working to determine guidelines that will make it very tough for a citizens-initiated referendum to get on the poll, and this week the Home voted to create a separate court docket system and police drive inside the predominately Black metropolis of Jackson, the state capitol, to be arrange by white officers.
The mixture of a wonderful candidate and the GOP’s conceitedness and corruption give Presley an opportunity.
Some $77 million of welfare funds for poor folks have been illicitly channeled to political supporters and massive pictures.
Presley charges the governor is “caught in the course of the most important public corruption scandal in state historical past.”
Probably the most egregious instance earlier than Reeves was elected in 2019, was $5 million in funds for poor folks going to the College of Southern Mississippi for a volleyball court docket.
Reeves blames the present scandal on the administration of his predecessor, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant — however Mississippi At this time reported that $1.3 million of the rip-off went to Reeves’s private coach for a health middle, together with a $300,000 “bonus.” As Lt. Governor, earlier than profitable his present workplace, Reeves had an oversight position within the state funds.
The state employed an investigator, former U.S. Legal professional Brad Pigott, to unravel the corruption. After he issued subpoenas to highly effective gamers, he was fired final summer time. “I suppose I used to be getting too shut,” Pigott informed me in an interview. “Gov. Reeves has appointed himself commander in chief of the cover-up.”
In his Mississippi vernacular, Presley will channel Lord Acton’s statement that “energy corrupts, and absolute energy corrupts completely.” The Mississippi authorities right this moment is rife with Actonites.
Al Hunt is the previous govt editor of Bloomberg Information. He beforehand served as reporter, bureau chief and Washington editor for The Wall Avenue Journal. For nearly 1 / 4 century he wrote a column on politics for The Wall Avenue Journal, then The Worldwide New York Instances and Bloomberg View. He hosts Politics Warfare Room with James Carville. Observe him on Twitter @AlHuntDC.
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Mississippi
Arizona State eyes first win against an SEC opponent vs. Mississippi State
Mississippi State at Arizona State, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Arizona State by 6 1/2.
Series record: First meeting.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Arizona State and Mississippi State both had dominant wins in the season-opening weekend and now have a tougher challenge when they face each other on Saturday night. The Sun Devils are trying to build off an impressive 48-7 win over Wyoming and prove they might be a factor in the Big 12 race. Arizona State has never beaten an SEC opponent. Mississippi State plays its second game under new coach Jeff Lebby. The Bulldogs beat Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in their season opener..
KEY MATCHUP
Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen vs. the Arizona State defense. The Sun Devils scored a touchdown on the second play of their opener when Zyrus Fiaseu picked off a pass and returned it to the end zone. It was one of two interceptions on the day for Arizona State. Shapen had a great debut against Eastern Kentucky but will face a much tougher defense on Saturday.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mississippi State: Shapen had a terrific first game with the Bulldogs, throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 44 yards and a TD against Eastern Kentucky. The 6-foot-1 senior played the previous three college seasons at Baylor with mixed success. Shapen has thrown a TD pass in 12 consecutive games dating to this time at Baylor in 2022.
Arizona State: RB Cam Skattebo led a balanced rushing attack against Wyoming, gaining 49 yards and scoring a touchdown. Skattebo was a do-it-all player for Arizona State last year, spending time at quarterback, running back and receiver. The Sun Devils might not need him to be as versatile this season, but he’s still a threat from just about anywhere on the field.
FACTS & FIGURES
Mississippi State had six different players score touchdowns against Eastern Kentucky. … The Bulldogs’ 93.7 passing grade in the opener was the second-best mark in all of the FBS, trailing only Purdue, according to Pro Football Focus. … Mississippi State’s Kevin Coleman Jr. returned five punts for 117 yards last week. … Arizona State was credited with just two missed tackles on defense in the opener, tied for the third-lowest tally among FBS schools. … Skattebo is 270 rushing yards away from reaching 3,000 in his career. He is 342 all-purpose yards away from reaching 4,000 and 202 receiving yards away from reaching 1,000.
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Mississippi
How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff
![How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff How Mississippi State football is preparing for Arizona State weather, late kickoff](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/03/PNAS/75060541007-usatsi-24129028.jpg?auto=webp&crop=5472,3078,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is preparing to play a team that, at least through one game, looks vastly improved from last season.
Coach Jeff Lebby admitted on Monday, and Bulldog players have noticed it too after Arizona State (1-0) thumped Wyoming 48-7 in its opener.
MSU (1-0) must also factor in the late kickoff that is scheduled Saturday (9:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Mississippi is hot, but so is Arizona — a different kind of hot, too.
Modifications and remedies are being made, such as the team leaving Starkville on Thursday instead of how it normally would on a Friday for a Saturday game.
“For our guys, just knowing exactly what we are getting into,” Lebby said. “We continue to talk about that through yesterday and this morning and (are) having those conversations to understand what it’s going to look like late in the week. We got to do a great job from a preparation standpoint of how we are hydrating, how we are eating and how we are resting to give us the ability to go on the road on this flight and be able to be at our best Saturday night.”
Just this week, Phoenix broke a record with its 100th straight day of 100-degree temperatures. According to AccuWeather, the high on Saturday in Tempe will be 107 degrees with a low of 86. The temperature should dip to around 91 near kickoff with a humidity of 24%.
“Coach Lebby has already been harping on that,” tight end Justin Ball said. “We’ve already been hydrating and making sure we are getting rest every single day. We leave on Thursday, so we already talked about the plan to make sure we are hydrating the entire plane ride there, making sure when we get there we get acclimated as quickly as you can and just staying together. Making sure we’re focused, make sure we keep the goal first and then execute the game plan.”
MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong
Mississippi State played well the last time it played in Arizona
The Bulldogs played Arizona in Tucson two seasons ago. They squandered a pedestrian Wildcats team 39-17. Kickoff for that game was at 8 p.m. PST though the temperature was 84 degrees at game time.
Not many players remain on Mississippi State’s roster from that 2022 season. But the ones who are, like linebacker Nic Mitchell, can benefit from the experience and also share it with teammates.
“We know it’s going to be a long flight, so we know we got to be hydrated,” Mitchell said. “It gives people experience that have done it before and they can tell the young guys how it’s going to be in the flight, how you got to hydrate and stuff like that.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Playing for Mississippi State not an option for Arizona State back Kyson ‘Sipp’ Brown
Arizona State forces 3 turnovers in win over Wyoming to start 2024
All offseason, coach Kenny Dillingham preached getting turnovers. Forty seconds into the season’s first game, the defense produced its first one.
Sophomore running back Kyson Brown is one of the faster players on the Arizona State football team. But Brown seems to have a little more pep in his step this week. Why? Well, the Sun Devils (1-0) are set to take on Mississippi State (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
Sure an SEC opponent is enough to get any athlete fired up. But the 6-foot, 200-pounder hails from Tupelo, Mississippi, which is where he got his nickname, Sipp. Tupelo is 67 miles north of the Mississippi State campus in Starkville that Sipp has visited a handful of times.
“I have family, growing up they were all Mississipp State fans and some Ole Miss fans,” he said. “Some of my family are debating whether they want to cheer for me or not. It’s going to be good. A lot of hometown friends. Got a couple guys I went to high school with there. It’s going to be good seeing those guys and hopefully, we compete at a good level and get the W.”
Brown, a mechanical engineering major, is enrolled in ASU’s Barret honors program, He emerged as one of the team’s most improved players. He saw some time on special teams as a true freshman in 2023 and has set himself up for a bigger role, although the ASU backfield has a lot of depth.
In the last week’s 48-7 win over Wyoming, Brown pitched in with six rushing attempts for 25 yards and two receptions for 73 yards. His 68-yard touchdown reception was the longest play from scrimmage that ASU had on the night.
“It felt amazing just to get back in the end zone again,” Brown said. “You come out of high school, you know I’m used to being in the end zone every game, all the time. That play, I knew — once I made the first guy miss — I knew I wasn’t going to let anybody catch me.”
Brown lived in Mississippi until moving to Lancaster, Texas, outside of Dallas, after his sophomore year of high school. He sat out junior year after the transfer. As a senior he averaged 9.5 yards per carry, finishing with 707 yards and 11 touchdowns on 74 carries while adding 14 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Sitting out his junior year hurt his recruiting, but he still had notable offers from Purdue, Missouri and Houston. The balance of his options were lower-profile schools. Mississippi State didn’t offer.
He is happy with the end result. A place on the ASU football roster. In the offseason, he worked on his agility, flexibility and catching the ball, which was evident in his recent scoring play.
“We all have the big-play potential,” he said of his fellow running backs. “I feel my role is to make plays, wherever they put me be able to perform.”
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