BRANDON, Miss. (WJTV) – Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) doubled down on his corruption claims against Democratic candidate Brandon Presley, even amidst his own legal challenges.
A recent ad by the Tate Reeves Campaign alleged Presley broke the law when he received campaign funds from an alternative energy company while serving as a Public Service Commissioner.
On October 9, the Reeves Campaign was sent a cease and desist letter from Silicon Ranch claiming that the Reeves’ ad is defamatory. The campaign was ordered them to stop running the ad.
The letter insists Silicon Ranch executives donated to Presley in their individual capacity and that the company is not classified as a public utility under Mississippi law, but Reeves disagreed.
“We’re going to continue to focus on running ads that differentiate between us. My opponent has obviously and clearly broken the law, and I think anybody that can read sees that,” the governor said on Tuesday, October 17 during an event in Brandon, Mississippi.
Reeves was asked if his campaign was going to keep running the ad, even though they were sent a cease and desist letter.
“Obviously, the other side is playing politics. You’ve got green energy folks that my opponent regulates and have written him campaign checks, and that is illegal in Mississippi. There is no there’s no question that that is illegal in Mississippi. Multiple public service commissioners have gone to prison for doing exactly what Brandon Presley has done. And that’s just a fact. And it’s not debatable. By the way, that is a fact,” said Reeves.
He continued, “They’ve ruled themselves that they can bypass state law. No, they don’t get to do that. The fact is the legislature passes the laws. My opponent has taken illegal campaign contributions. Everybody in the state knows it.”
In a statement, the Presley Campaign said, “Tate Reeves is so desperate to cover up the fact his campaign is funded by criminals in the largest public corruption scandal in state history that he is willing to lie and make up any smear he can.”
