1955 Mississippi gubernatorial election

Last updated

1955 Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
  1951 November 8, 1955 1959  
  J. P. Coleman, Mississippi Attorney General.jpg Inauguration, Johnson, 1964 (12209883836) (cropped).jpg
Nominee James P. Coleman Paul B. Johnson Jr.
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote233,237185,924
Percentage55.64%44.36%

1955 Mississippi gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Coleman:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%

Johnson:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%

Governor before election

Hugh L. White
Democratic

Elected Governor

James P. Coleman
Democratic

The 1955 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1955, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Hugh L. White was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran unopposed in the general election, so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election. This election was the first Mississippi gubernatorial election since 1931 that the winner of the gubernatorial election was of a different party than the incumbent president.

Contents

Democratic primary

No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured five contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by Attorney General James P. Coleman, who defeated lawyer Paul B. Johnson Jr., son of former Governor Paul B. Johnson Sr.

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1955 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Paul B. Johnson Jr. 122,423 28.06
Democratic James P. Coleman 104,140 23.87
Democratic Fielding L. Wright 94,41021.64
Democratic Ross Barnett 92,78521.27
Democratic Mary D. Cain 22,4695.15
Total votes436,227 100.00

Runoff

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1955 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic James P. Coleman 233,237 55.64
Democratic Paul B. Johnson Jr. 185,92444.36
Total votes419,161 100.00

General election

In the general election, Coleman ran unopposed.

Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1955 [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic James P. Coleman 40,707 100.00
Total votes40,707 100.00
Democratic hold

References

  1. "MS Governor D Primary 1955". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  2. "MS Governor D Primary Runoff 1955". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  3. "MS Governor 1955". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.