Nettleton – In his first paid TV ad released today, Tate Reeves couldn’t help but remind Mississippians of his role in the largest corruption scandal in state history by using footage from a shuttered private school run by guilty welfare fraudster Nancy New. The Reeves campaign received backlash for using the same footage in their announcement video earlier this month. 

In 2019, the Reeves campaign filmed a TV ad at the New Summit School and at the time a Reeves spokesperson said that “We were proud to film this one at New Summit” - a school whose founder Nancy New is “one of the central figures in Mississippi’s massive welfare scandal.” Nancy New and her son have both pled guilty to fraud charges after “bilking $4 million in public education funds related to their work at New Summit School” and have also pled guilty to other charges related to the $77 million in stolen and misspent funds meant for working families.

“Tate Reeves is so steeped in the stench of corruption he can’t help but remind Mississippians of his role in the largest public corruption scandal in state history,” said Michael Beyer, Communications Director for Brandon Presley. “By brazenly using footage from central figures in Mississippi’s largest public corruption scandal, Tate Reeves won’t be able to hide how he helped to funnel millions of dollars meant for working families to his personal trainer and celebrity friends and when the investigation got too close to him and his buddies, he fired the veteran investigator to protect himself.”

Brandon Presley is a fighter who keeps his promises, stands up for the little guy, and isn't afraid to ruffle more than a few feathers to deliver results for hardworking Mississippi families. Brandon served as Mayor of Nettleton from 2001 to 2007, where he got the town moving again, then balanced the budget every year and cut taxes twice. As Public Service Commissioner, Brandon opened up meetings that had been closed to the public for decades, brought high-speed internet to some of the most remote and forgotten parts of Mississippi, put people back to work with the Hire Mississippi program, and saved taxpayers over 6 billion dollars.

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