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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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This didn’t get enough play when I posted it over on StateDesk, so I figured I’d blog it here, too. Whatchyawlthin?

Zata3, a Democratic pollster with offices in Washington and Mississippi, released new statewide job performance polling data for a number of Mississippi officials. The news is pretty good for most of the incumbents looking for re-election or election to higher office, with approval rates over 50% for many of them. Results for incumbents in state office include:

  • Eric Clark, Secretary of State: 57% approval, 13% disapproval, 28% don’t recognize
  • Jim Hood, Attorney General: 54% approval, 18% disapproval, 18% don’t recognize
  • Tate Reeves, Treasurer: 61% approval, 12% disapproval, 28% don’t recognize
  • Lester Spell, Agriculture Commissioner: 57% approval, 19% disapproval, 24% don’t recognize
  • George Dale, Insurance Commission: 55% approval, 30% disapproval, 16% don’t recognize

Noteworthy is Tate Reeve’s high approval rating and the recognizability of Hood and Dale. Dale is both the most recognizable and the most disapproved of among the statewide elected officials, with 18% registering a “very unfavorable” response.

Previous Comments

He’s the insurance commish. I bet most of those disapproving live on the coast.


I thought it was interesting that Jim Hood is more recognizable than Eric Clark. I guess Eric never had a terribly high profile considering his longevity in the position.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.