Mississippi’s Republican Governor Tate Reeves has come under fire after he left his state to attend a fundraiser in Alabama while his constituents were dealing with extensive tornado damage.
Back-to-back tornadoes killed one person in the state and injured dozens, leaving homes and businesses shattered, and residents dealing with power outages.
Mr Reeves attended the Republican Governors Association (RGA) fundraiser alongside Alabama GOP Governor Kay Ivey at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Birmingham on Monday, an invitation showed according to the Associated Press.
Attendees paid between $5,000 for one person and $50,000 for four people. Mr Reeves is serving as the RGA policy chair and is hoping to get re-elected as governor this year.
Reeves campaign manager Elliott Husbands responded to questions on Tuesday, saying that the fundraiser was planned far in advance and that the money raised hasn’t been earmarked for a specific campaign.
The states where governors are elected this year include Mississippi, Kentucky, and Louisiana.
Mr Husbands noted that Mr Reeves has been in contact with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency since the weather problems began last week, including during his jaunt to Alabama, a trip which lasted around three hours, the campaign manager claimed.
“The Governor also has personally communicated with local leaders in the affected areas,” Mr Husbands said. “In addition, he has already said publicly he is going to be on the ground in the impacted areas tomorrow.”
The Democratic nominee taking on Mr Reeves is Mississippi’s northern district public service commissioner Brandon Presley.
The communications director of the Democratic gubernatorial campaign, Michael Beyer, slammed Mr Reeves on Tuesday.
“It is no surprise to see Tate Reeves leave the state for a fundraiser in the middle of storm recovery — when given a choice between rubbing elbows with the wealthy and well-connected or speaking face-to-face with Mississippians who have had their lives upended by this storm, he will always go after the money,” he said. “If it would mean furthering himself, Tate Reeves would go to Antarctica for a campaign check.”
Mr Husbands said Mr Reeves didn’t use the state plane for the trip to Alabama.
Thousands of residents in the state have been struggling in the heat as their air-conditioning was affected by the thunderstorms taking out the electricity in the central parts of the state last week.
Jasper County in the eastern parts of the state was struck by a tornado on Sunday night into Monday morning, leading to the death of one person and the injuries of almost two dozen. The storm damaged more than 70 homes.
Later on Monday, another tornado hit Jackson County, which includes a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico.
Moss Point was the city struck hardest as the storm injured six people and damaged around 100 buildings.
“We’ll be here for the long haul to support these communities and help them recover,” Mr Reeves said on social media on Tuesday.
