“We need people with talent from all backgrounds. We need people who are driven and have all the experience we can get…We have begun the process of building our team,” Reeves said during a 20-minute news conference held in the Sillers’ office building’s press briefing room. The room was not used frequently during the tenure of the outgoing governor. The press briefing room was not used often by Phil Bryant, but it was regularly used during Bryant’s eight-year tenure. Reeves is currently transitioning to another Jackson state building, Woolfolk. He said that he would be available to the media as governor. His inauguration is scheduled for January 14. Reeves won 52 percent of the vote in defeating Jim Hood, the Democratic Attorney General, Nov. 5. This was the first time since 2003 that the state has had a competitive governor’s race. At Monday’s news conference, Reeves announced a web site for people interested in applying for a post in his administration: https://www.dfa.ms.gov/reevestransition/. Not only will there be vacancies in the governor’s offices, but also in state agencies that are controlled by him, such as Medicaid, Public Safety, and the Department of Human Services. Reeves stated that he was referring to hundreds, hundreds, and even hundreds of people. Reeves stated that “you are talking about hundreds and hundreds and even hundreds of individuals.” Reeves acknowledged that there is a possibility White could serve as chief of staff in the governor’s offices. Reeves stated that he is still committed to the four year plan he presented during his campaign to raise teacher pay by $4300. He hopes to have the legislation passed during the 2020 session. Reeves said that he was open to considering other proposals for a raise in state employee pay. Reeves was only Republican to win the three gubernatorial election held in November. He also won the Louisiana and Kentucky elections. Donald Trump campaigned in support of all three Republican candidates for gubernatorial office. Reeves noted that Trump won Louisiana and Kentucky in 2016 with larger margins than he won Mississippi. Vice President Mike Pence campaigned also for Reeves. He said, “I am particularly thankful that President Trump and Vice President Pence played an active role in the campaign and certainly…it helped our campaign.” “More important to this, I believe that the relationship we built during campaign with President Trump and his administration will help us govern when it comes to Mississippi issues.” Reeves said, “It was my intention to win the support and vote of all Mississippians. Although we didn’t reach 100 percent, our success was in an environment where other competent, capable Republicans weren’t.”_x000D