According to a poll released Friday morning, Waller, whose campaign slogan says “The conservative who can win in November”, would do three points better against Hood than Reeves who has 10x the money and key endorsements. The results of a matchup between Hood & Waller were: * Bill Waller Jr. Republican: 53% * Jim Hood Democrat: 41% *No answer: 6%. When Hood is matched against Reeves the race breaks down as follows: * Tate Reeves Republican: 51% * Jim Hood Democrat: 42% * No Answer: 6%. Hood, the fourth-term attorney general, who aims at becoming the state’s first Democratic governor, trails Waller 12 points to Ree by nine points. Waller, who had served 22 years on Mississippi’s Supreme Court, announced his candidacy in February. Many assumed that Reeves would win the Republican nomination when he entered the race. Waller has presented many of Hood’s policy proposals, including raising teacher pay each year until the state average reaches the Southeastern average. He also proposed expanding Medicaid. Waller refers exclusively to his plan as “Medicaid Reform”. Reeves has been serving the past eight years in lieutenant governor, after having also served two terms as state treasurer. He has instead focused his messaging on defeating Hood. He’s been able to garner endorsements from more than 300 Republican Party members in the state, including the governor. Former Gov. Phil Bryant. Haley Barbour. Reeves has been facing likability questions from prominent Republicans in recent weeks. Five Republican Party elders voted for Waller in April. Former GOP Chairman Billy Powell called Reeves “arrogant”. Reeves’ favorability rating has consistently been lower than that of other state elected officials. Waller has, however, attempted to capitalize upon Reeves’ likability with Republican primary voters. Waller posted a Facebook ad saying: “Shouldn’t you like your governor candidate?” You can now. The Friday poll shows that Waller’s support among moderates and conservatives is slightly higher than Reeves. Out of the 205 respondents who described themselves as “very conservative”, 69 percent said that they would vote for Waller instead of Hood. While 67 percent said that they would vote for Reeves rather than Hood. Reeves did better against Hood than Waller among the 389 respondents who called themselves “conservative”. 73 percent of those polled said they would vote for Reeves instead of Hood, while 70 percent said that they would vote for Waller. Waller did better than Reeves among moderates, but Hood outperformed them both. Waller received 36% of the 321 voters who identified themselves as moderates, while Reeves got 31 percent. Hood was supported by a majority of voters who identified as “liberal” or “very liberal”. Divided by gender, Waller beat Reeves six times among female respondents and one among male respondents.