Mississippi’s GOP candidates for governor face off in a debate Tuesday

If you’re planning on voting in the Republican Party primary elections August 6, plan to watch the GOP gubernatorial debate as well.

WJTV is hosting the debate in Jackson on Tuesday, July 23 at 7 p.m.

All three Republican contenders for the governor’s office will be on hand. Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, former state Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller Jr. and state Rep. Robert Foster will answer questions from Byron Brown, Melanie Christopher and political reporter Gerald Harris. Those questions are “focused on topical local and regional issues impacting communities across Mississippi and candidate-specific subjects,” according to WJTV.

A recent NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll shows Waller with a small lead over Reeves when matched against the leading Democratic contender, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. Both Waller and Reeves would beat Hood according to the poll: Waller by 53-41, and Reeves by 51-42.  The poll did not include a Foster-Hood match up.

The Hood campaign did not give the poll much credence, calling it “monkey business” in a statement to WJTV.

“Survey Monkey is ranked the eighth worst polling outfit in the nation out of 396 rated by the authoritative 538 website. We have been up in the polls for the past two years. We are seeing undercurrents that haven’t been seen in decades.” A survey released in May by the Hood campaign showed Hood with a five point lead over Reeves in a similar, hypothetical match up.

A debate between the Democratic gubernatorial candidates was scheduled for July 17 at Jackson State University; however, Hood could not attend due to a scheduling conflict, and organizers cancelled the event. No new date has been set.