JACKSON, Miss. -- Republican Mike Parker has moved narrowly ahead of Democrat Ronnie Musgrove in the race for governor, according to the Mason-Dixon Research poll.
Parker, a former congressman, had 47 percent of the total compared to 42 percent for Musgrove with 11 percent of the voters still undecided, in the poll conducted earlier this week. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.The winner of the Nov. 2 election will succeed Gov. Kirk Fordice, the state's first Republican governor since Reconstruction.
The poll of 605 likely voters was commissioned by media outlets including the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo and WAPT-TV in Jackson.
Musgrove, the lieutenant governor, had a 13 percentage point lead in June in a Mason-Dixon poll. Since then, Parker has steadily climbed in the poll, pulling even with Musgrove in September and passing him in the most recent survey.
Mississippi is one of three states electing governors this year. Louisiana holds an open primary on Saturday in which Republican Gov. Mike Foster is given a shot at winning a second term without a runoff. In Kentucky, Democratic Gov. Paul Patton is favored to win a second term on Nov. 2.