Parker Briden, spokesperson for the Reeves campaign said that Jim Hood had been very clear about his support of raising the gas tax. If he’s trying now to walk it back, that would be a cowardly move. He used every opportunity to attack Tate Reeves’ refusal to raise taxes and now he is trying to be on both ends of the issue. It’s pathetic. We know that Jim Hood stated that raising the gas tax was an easy solution. Tate Reeves said it would be too difficult on working families and that he wouldn’t support it.” Reeves spent a lot of his campaign resources trying to tie Hood with national Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the presidential candidate from Massachusetts. The issue of raising the gasoline tax is becoming a key issue in this year’s campaign to be governor. Many candidates are expressing concern about the state of roads and bridges, and looking for funding solutions. Reeves is the Republican front-runner and points out that he opposes increasing the gas tax. His Republican opponents, the former Chief Justice of Mississippi Supreme Court, Bill Waller Jr., and Robert Foster, claim they support raising the tax as part a tax swap such as reducing income tax while increasing motor fuel tax. Hood is the Democratic front-runner and is receiving the most attention from Reeves regarding the issue. Responding to questions regarding the gasoline tax, Hood’s campaign stated that “our crumbling roads are a result of eight years of poor leadership by Tate Reeves.” As a last resort, a hike in the gas tax should not be considered as a solution to his problems. Reeves instead of spending our tax dollars to solve these problems, he has given hundreds of millions to out-of state corporations, many of which are his campaign contributors. Jim Hood believes that working people require a tax cut before they can get the grocery tax reduced. Hood will work with both sides to find a way for Mississippians to be able to repair their roads and bridges while also giving them a tax break.” Hood supported raising the 18.4-cent gasoline tax in Mississippi, which is fourth-lowest in the country. Hood, for example, criticized Senate leaders in a 2018 press release after the conclusion of the legislative session for not “considering funding road and bridge repairs partially using a fuel tax.” Hood also appeared to support the gasoline tax in various news articles prior to his announcement for governor in late 2018. Many journalists have assumed that Hood’s campaign included raising the gasoline tax based on these comments. His campaign claims that this is not true. Many Democrats believe that all taxes, even those cut by the Republican majority over the past eight years should be considered when funding roads and bridges. Hood and other Democrats have criticised Reeves’ legislative leadership for multiple tax cuts, which will take approximately $415 million (in current dollars) from the state general fund tax collections. These tax collections were $5.9billion for the current fiscal. This tax cut is in addition to the $325 million that was taken out of the general fund over the past eight years. Reeves believes that tax cuts are increasing the state’s economic growth. Low unemployment. In early 2018, the number of Mississippians working was higher than before the 2008 recession. Since then, the number of Mississippians working has increased. The state’s economy has experienced a slower growth rate than the national and other states over the period since 2008’s recession. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Mississippi’s gross domestic product increased by 1% in 2018. This is the highest annual growth rate since the recession. These statistics and other data will be discussed in detail during this election cycle. Hood will also criticize Reeves’ inability to adequately address transportation issues over the past eight years. Hood will be criticized by Reeves for talking about wanting more money on roads and bridges, but not saying where that extra money will come from.