Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves secured the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday night, setting up a Nov. 5 general election battle with Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood.
The Associated Press called the race for Reeves, 45, over former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr., 67, at about 8:40 p.m.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting statewide, Reeves had pulled in about 54 percent of the state vote versus 46 percent for Waller.
Marion County went even stronger for Reeves, who based his campaign on his conservative credentials while Waller focused more on issues like road repairs, education and health care. In Marion County Reeves took 3,407 votes (59.3 percent) versus 2,337 votes (40.7 percent) for Waller, according to unofficial counts.
For attorney general, State Treasurer Lynn Fitch secured the GOP nomination with 52 percent statewide (60.6 percent in Marion County) over Andy Taggart. Fitch will be a heavy favorite Nov. 5 to win the position for Republicans for the first time since Reconstruction.
