Can Elvis Presley help a Democrat actually win a statewide race in Mississippi?

Mississippi Democratic nominee for governor Brandon Presley speaks to reporters on Monday in Jackson, Mississippi. Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Democrat Brandon Presley, a second cousin of Elvis Presley who serves on the Mississippi Public Service Commission, is leaning hard on name recognition from his relative and says his campaign is experiencing momentum in the weeks leading up to Election Day. 

The governor's race in Mississippi — a deep red state that voted for former President Donald Trump by double digits — is seen as closer than initially expected. 

Presley is banking on his populist message and name recognition to do what hasn’t been done in two decades: Knock a Republican out of the governor’s mansion. 

Reeves is unpopular in part due to a massive welfare scandal that Presley has relentlessly tied to the governor.

But Reeves has worked to convince voters, even enlisting the help of Trump in an election eve tele-rally, that the Democrat has stronger ties to President Joe Biden than Elvis