As Presley tops Reeves in monthly fundraising for first time, find out who cut the checks

When incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves and challenger Brandon Presley each posted fundraising totals Tuesday for the July reporting period, some notable names and big donors were again featured on their lists.

That said, much of the attention focused on the big picture totals, where Presley beat out Reeves for the first time since the race began.

Presley reported raising more than $1.12 million in July, compared to more than $309,000 for Reeves. Presley's July total once again outpaces previous Democratic gubernatorial candidates. In 2019, then-Attorney General Jim Hood raised $283,000 in July. On election day, Hood fell short to Reeves by about 5%.

Despite outraising the incumbent in July, Presley still falls short of Reeves in cash on hand. Reeves was sitting on about $9.4 million in total funds, split between two accounts, at the end of July, whereas Presley had about $1.5 million.

More than half of Presley's fundraising haul came from a single donation. The Democratic Governors Association donating $750,000 to Presley, a level of commitment from national Democrats rarely seen in recent Mississippi politics.

The three states holding statewide elections this year — Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky — all voted for Donald Trump by double digits in both 2016 and 2020. That said, two of the three currently have Democratic governors. In Louisiana, John Bel Edwards is term limited, and multiple Republicans are fighting in a primary for the chance to flip the governor's mansion. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, Andy Beshear is seeking a second term, against Republican challengers. Committing significant funds to the race in Mississippi, while also trying to hold onto governorships in those two states, may be a sign of confidence in Presley from national party figures.

Reeves received $500,000 in June from Mississippi Strong, a political action committee supported by the Republican Governors Association.

Presley's Donations

Even without the DGA donation, Presley outraised Reeves by more than $60,000.

Presley had a higher proportion of smaller donations, but other large donations included $25,000 from Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation PAC, $20,000 from Douglas A. Horne, of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Agnes Gund, of New York, New York. The largest individual Mississippi-based donor was Milton O. Sundbeck of West Point, who gave $10,000. Sundbeck is president of Southern Ionics, Inc.

Presley had some notable donations as well.

Continuing a trend of donations from other Democrats from the South, former three-term U.S. Senator from Louisiana Mary Landrieu donated $1,000.

Also donating $1,000 in July, and bringing his total for the year to $2,000, was Brad Pigott. Pigott is a Jackson-based attorney who was once in charge of the civil case related to the state's welfare fraud scheme. Pigott was hired by the Department of Human Services to seek money from those who improperly benefited from the scheme. Last year, his contract was not renewed. He claimed he had been fired by Reeves, telling Mississippi Today at the time that he believed it was because he was seeking to subpoena former Gov. Phil Bryant. Reeves has said Pigott was not fired.

Reeves' Donations

Reeves' July fundraising was absent the six-figure donations that have been seen in past filings.

Reeves, who had a higher proportion of funds come from in-state, still had a high number of large donors. Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors PAC of Jackson, Mississippi Manufacturers Association PAC of Jackson and Marty Davidson of Meridian each donated $25,000. Davidson is the owner of Southern Pipe & Co.

One pattern that emerged in Reeves' July fundraising was donations from casinos. Casino Vicksburg LLC gave Reeves $5,000. Pennsylvania-based Penn Entertainment donated $1,000 directly to Reeves, reaching the corporate limit, and donated $1,500 through its PAC, reaching a total of $2,500. Boyd Gaming Corporation PAC also donated $2,500. Reeves has also received individual donations from gambling executives in previous filings.

Other notable contributions came from a PAC associated with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Chevron, with each giving $1,000.

Large Donors

Below is a list of all donors to the Reeves and Presley campaigns who gave $5,000 or more in July:

Brandon Presley

$750,000

• Democratic Governors Association, of Washington, D.C. (PAC)

$25,000

• Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation Political Action Committee, of Washington, D.C. (PAC)

$20,000

• Douglas A. Horne, of Knoxville, TN (President, Horne Properties Inc.)

$15,000

• Agnes Gund, of New York, NY (Retired)

$10,000

• The Barnes Law Group LLC, of Marietta, GA (LLC)

• Milton O. Sundbeck, of West Point (President, Southern Ionics, Inc.)

• Solv Energy LLC, of San Diego, CA (LLC)

• Kathy Olsen, of Nashville, TV (Retired)

$7,500

• Weston Milliken, of West Hollywood, CA (Retired)

$5,000

• Charles J. Mikhail, of Wiggins (Attorney, Self Employed)

• Charles Merinoff, of Windham, VT (Chairman, Breakthru Beverage)

• Charles Cahn, of New York, NY (Retired)

• Thomas E. Childs Jr, of Fulton (Retired)

• Crymes G. Pittman, of Jackson (Attorney, Self)

• Buddy Faulkner, of Lookout Mountain, TN (Retired)

Tate Reeves

$25,000

• Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors PAC, of Jackson (PAC)

• Mississippi Manufacturers Association PAC, of Jackson (PAC)

• Marty Davidson, of Meridian (Owner, Southern Pipe & Co. LLC)

$20,000

• Ryan Scott Zingery, of Fort Mill, SC (Business, Self)

$18,693.97

• Interest Earnings

$12,500

• Loss Prevention Services LLC, of Natchez (LLC)

$10,000

• MAE-PAC, of Tuscaloosa, AL (PAC)

• Caterpillar Inc. PAC, of Irving, TX (PAC)

• Robert E. Luke, of Madison (Principal, LPK Architects)

• The Presidential Coalition LLC, of Washington, D.C. (LLC)

$5,000

• Chip Reno and Associates LLC, of Jackson (LLC)

• Casino Vicksburg LLC, of Vicksburg (LLC)

• Tourism Mississippi PAC, of Madison (PAC)

• Barden Mississippi Gaming LLC, of Robinsonville (LLC)

• Kinetic Staffing LLC, of Jackson (LLC)

• William H. Allen, of Tunica (Executive, A&J Planting Company)

• Lance Sanders, of Lake (Executive, Waste Management)

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi governor race: latest campaign finance updates, big donors