Trump takes credit for Tate Reeves win in Mississippi. Does he deserve it?

JACKSON, Mississippi – Hours before he set foot in the Magnolia State Friday, President Donald Trump sent out a tweet encouraging people to attend a rally in the wrong state.

"Louisiana, I’ll see you tonight. Big Rally for Eddie R.," Trump said in a now-deleted tweet.

It didn't matter. Trump's speech Friday night in a Tupelo arena rarely touched on Republican Tate Reeves and his campaign for governor — let alone Mississippi issues — and the crowd loved it.

“I can’t believe this is a competitive race,” Trump said of the contest between Reeves and Democrat Jim Hood, calling it “embarrassing” that a governor's race in deep red Mississippi was competitive.

After Reeves pulled out a comfortable 5-point win over Hood Tuesday night, a national Republican leader claimed Reeves had been trailing Hood by more than 10 percentage points, and Trump took credit for the win.

"Our big Rally on Friday night moved the numbers from a tie to a big WIN," Trump tweeted. "Great reaction under pressure Tate!"

However, Reeves was already leading Democrat Jim Hood in polls when Trump came to visit.

'Politics is a team sport'

In his victory speech, Reeves thanked both Trump and Pence for their visits.

"It would have been easy for them to ignore an election for state office in little ol' Mississippi," Reeves said. "But they paid attention. They showed up, and they worked hard. And I will never, ever forget their support."

When a reporter later asked Reeves if he could have won without Trump's support, Reeves did not directly answer the question.

"Politics is a team sport. We had a lot of support from a lot of people all across America," Reeves said. "I certainly appreciate President Trump. I appreciate Vice President Pence."

A double-digit turnaround?

Around the time Reeves was speaking to reporters, Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the national Republican party, tweeted her congratulations for Reeves — and also credited Trump for his victory.

"Reeves was down double-digits, but @realDonaldTrump came in big with his endorsement and rally, putting him over the top. A huge win for the President and our Party!" she tweeted.

Trump retweeted her, adding, "Great going Tate!"

It's unclear what polling data — if any — McDaniel was referring to. There has been no public poll showing Hood with such a dramatic lead in the run-up to the election.

Some Twitter users responded to McDaniel, asking where she got that polling data from, while others poked fun at the idea that Trump had such a drastic effect on the election.

Josh Marshall, editor of the left-leaning news site Talking Points Memo, tweeted, "No one thought it was possible. But with the help of President Trump a Republican managed to win a governorship in Mississippi."

Contact Giacomo "Jack" Bologna at 601-961-7282 or gbologna@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @gbolognaCL.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Trump takes credit for Tate Reeves win: Mississippi governors race