1833 Mississippi gubernatorial election

1833 Mississippi gubernatorial election

←  1831 May 6, 1833 1835  →

Nominee Hiram Runnels Abram M. Scott Party Democratic National Republican Popular vote 6,705 6,117 Percentage 52.3% 47.7%

County results Runnels:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%     >90% Scott:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%      No Returns

Governor before election Abram M. Scott National Republican Elected Governor Hiram Runnels [lower-alpha 1] Democratic

The 1833 Mississippi gubernatorial election was held on May 6, 1833, to elect the governor of Mississippi. Hiram Runnels, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Governor Abram Scott, a National Republican. ^{[1] [2] [lower-alpha 2]}

Background

With the passing of the Mississippi Constitution of 1832, the legislature scheduled elections for May instead of November, the typical month for elections prior. This was done to facilitate the transtition from the old constitution to the new one. ^[2]

Results

Despite Runnels winning the election in May, he was not inaugurated until November because of confusion of when his term began. During this confusion, Governor Scott died in June from cholera, resulting in Charles Lynch, the senate president, to assume office. Once the legislature met in a special session in November, Runnels was inaugurated and he assumed office. Constitutionally, Runnels was supposed to take office in January 1834, causing an irregularity at the end of his two-year term. ^[2]

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1833 ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hiram Runnels	6,705	52.3%
	National Republican	Abram M. Scott	6,117	47.7%
Total votes			12,822	100.00
	Democratic gain from National Republican

Notes

1. Scott died between the election and Runnels's inauguration and was briefly succeeded by Charles Lynch.
2. Glashan 1979 labels Scott as both an Independent Republican or National Republican, whereas John Raimo and Robert Sobel 1978 label him a National Republican. ^[3]

References

1. Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Westport, CT: Meckler Books. pp. 168–169.
2. Busbee, Westley F. (2014). Mississippi: A History. Wiley. pp. 89–90. ISBN   9781118822722.
3. Sobel, Robert; Raimo, John (1978). Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978. Meckler Books. p. 803. ISBN   978-0-930466-00-8.
4. Dublin, Michael J. (2011). United States Gubernatorial Elections, 1776-1860 : The Official Results by State and County. McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers. p. 129. ISBN   9780786453245.