The campaign should remind voters that the economy was in dire straits and its resources and efforts should be directed at highlighting this fact to them. It worked for Clinton. The results of an online survey conducted by NBC News/SurveyMonkey and Mississippi Today on Friday show that 61% of Mississippians think the state’s economy is very or fairly good (8%) or 53 percent (53%) compared with 38% who think it is quite bad (25% or very poor (13%). The same question was asked in September by the same pollsters. 50 percent of respondents said that the economy is good or fair, while 49 percent said it was very bad or very poor. This is only one poll. It is not a good idea to focus too much on one poll. However, it can be said that those poll results are positive news for the incumbent Lt. Governor. Tate Reeves is the Republican front-runner for this year’s governor’s race. Reeves recently stated on social media that “our economy is roaring.” Reeves is running as an incumbent governor with the endorsement and blessings of the outgoing Gov. Phil Bryant. A good economy is good news, all things being equal. These numbers could also be bad news to Attorney General Jim Hood (the favorite on the Democratic side) and Reeves’ two Republican rivals in the Aug.6 primary – former Chief Judge Bill Waller Jr., and state Rep. Robert Foster. This logic will be tested in the coming weeks and months. Hood and Foster have both been praising the Mississippi economy’s poor state and proposing solutions. These remedies range from infrastructure improvements to Medicaid expansion. Foster and Waller disguised it as Medicaid reform. Waller’s latest television advertisement states that Mississippi’s future depends on having an educated workforce. Hood also argues for universal pre-K, Medicaid expansion, teacher salary hikes, and infrastructure improvements. Even if most Mississippians think the economy is fine, they may not be inclined to support certain solutions. However, even though Mississippians are happy with the economy according to the poll and Reeves has a huge campaign cash advantage over his competitors, there is still the perception that he is in a close race. He could lose. The poll raises the question: What do the respondents mean by being happy with their state’s economic situation? Mississippi is at the bottom of almost every economic indicator. Respondents were asked “How do you rate Mississippi’s economy right now?” Did they say they are happy to be near the bottom, or did they not know that Mississippi was at the bottom? Or were they saying the economy is fine by Mississippi standards. Another poll, conducted quarterly by Millsaps College in conjunction with Jackson-based Chism Strategies, asks the same question: “Do you think Mississippi is heading in the right or wrong direction?” The July results were 41% right direction and 40% wrong direction. On eight polls that date back to September 2017, the average is 39% right direction and 36% wrong direction. There are occasions when the election is more about the economy than it is the economy. These include the popularity and unpopularity the candidates. Based on past polling done by Millsaps, Chism and others, Hood’s favorability rating appears to be significantly higher than Reeves. Reeves boasted in the past that he was able to tell people no when asked for state funding. NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll released Friday showed that Reeves was comfortably ahead of Waller, regardless of their likeability. Hood will have to deal with not only an improving economy favoring Reeves but also the fact that the Republican candidate is the default vote in Mississippi. Hood will have to convince the majority of voters that he can improve an already good economy and convince them that they don’t always need to vote Republican. Hood recently stated that he believes the state is ready to make changes. Hood said, “I hope that I will be a part of it.”