1947 Mississippi gubernatorial election

Last updated
1947 Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
  1943 August 5, 1947 1951  
  Fielding L. Wright portrait.jpg Paul B. Johnson Jr.jpg 3x4.svg
Candidate Fielding L. Wright Paul B. Johnson Jr. Jesse M. Byrd
Party Democratic Democratic Democratic
Popular vote182,771112,12337,997
Percentage51.71%30.70%10.40%

1947 MS gubernatorial Democratic primary.svg
Mississippi statewide unopposed Democrat.svg
Wright:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     100%
Johnson:     40–50%     50–60%
Byrd:     40–50%

Governor before election

Fielding L. Wright
Democratic

Elected Governor

Fielding L. Wright
Democratic

The 1947 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1947, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Fielding L. Wright, who had succeeded to the governorship a year prior following the death of Thomas L. Bailey, ran for election to a first full term.

Contents

As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate won in a landslide so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election. In fact, this was the first election since 1881 in which the Republican Party even fielded a nominal candidate, former Governor of Nebraska George L. Sheldon, and the first since 1919 in which any opposition party did.

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary, incumbent Governor Fielding L. Wright defeated lawyer Paul B. Johnson Jr., the son of former Governor Paul B. Johnson Sr., and 3 other candidates. He received a majority (55%) of the vote, thereby eliminating the need for a runoff.

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1947 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Fielding L. Wright (incumbent) 202,014 55.31
Democratic Paul B. Johnson Jr. 112,12330.70
Democratic Jesse M. Byrd37,99710.40
Democratic Frank L. Jacobs8,7502.40
Democratic William L. Spinks4,3441.19
Total votes365,228 100.00

General election

Campaign

In the general election, Wright ran against Republican George L. Sheldon, who served as Governor of Nebraska from 1907 until 1909. Sheldon moved to Mississippi after his service as governor and served in the Mississippi House of Representatives, becoming an influential figure in the state Republican Party. However, the Republicans had such minimal influence in Mississippi at the time that Wright won in a landslide with almost 98% of the vote.

Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1947 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Fielding L. Wright (incumbent) 166,095 97.59
Republican George L. Sheldon 4,1022.41
Total votes170,197 100.00
Democratic hold

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References

  1. "MS Governor D Primary 1947". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  2. "MS Governor 1947". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.