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County results Waller: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% >90% ContentsEvers: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Mississippi |
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The 1971 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on 2 November 1971 for the post of Governor of Mississippi. The incumbent governor, Democrat John Bell Williams, was ineligible due to term limits, a rule that was changed to two back-to-back terms in the 1980s. [1]
Democrat Bill Waller, the former District Attorney of Hinds County, was chosen as his party's nominee in a contested primary. Running as an independent, Mayor of Fayette Charles Evers became the first African-American candidate for governor of Mississippi. [2]
As of 2023, this is the most recent time that Rankin County voted Democratic in a gubernatorial election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Charles L. Sullivan | 288,219 | 37.78 | |
Democratic | William L. Waller | 227,424 | 29.81 | |
Democratic | James E. "Jimmy" Swan | 128,946 | 16.90 | |
Democratic | Roy C. Adams | 45,445 | 5.96 | |
Democratic | Ed Pittman | 38,170 | 5.00 | |
Democratic | Marshall Perry | 18,021 | 2.36 | |
Democratic | Andrew W. Sullivan | 16,762 | 2.20 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | William L. Waller | 389,952 | 54.22 | |
Democratic | Charles L. Sullivan | 329,236 | 45.78 |
No Republican primary was held.
Evers' campaign was supported by civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, the Congressional Black Caucus, and Mayor of New York John Lindsay. [2]
According to TheNew York Times, Waller ran a relatively moderate campaign. However, one report noted that Waller's campaign featured "racially ragged edges", such as airing radio commercials that played the song "Dixie" and receiving support from segregationist politicians like James Eastland. [4]
Following Waller's victory, Evers drove across town to a local TV station to congratulate him. A reporter later wrote that:
Waller's aides learned Evers was in the building and tried to hustle the governor-elect out of the studio as soon as the interview ended. They were not quite quick enough. Surrounded by photographers, reporters, and television crews, Evers approached Waller's car just as it was about to pull out. Waller and his wife were in the back seat. "I just wanted to congratulate you," said Evers. "Whaddya say, Charlie?" boomed Waller. His wife leaned across with a stiff smile and shook the loser's hand. During the campaign Evers told reporters that his main purpose in running was to encourage registration of black voters. [5]
Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | William L. Waller | 601,222 | 77.02 | |
Independent | Charles Evers | 172,762 | 22.13 | |
Independent | Tom P. Brady | 6,653 | 0.85 |
James Charles Evers was an American civil rights activist, businessman, radio personality, and politician. Evers was known for his role in the civil rights movement along with his younger brother Medgar Evers. After serving in World War II, Evers began his career as a disc jockey at WHOC in Philadelphia, Mississippi. In 1954, he was made the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) State Voter Registration chairman. After his brother's assassination in 1963, Evers took over his position as field director of the NAACP in Mississippi. In this role, he organized and led many demonstrations for the rights of African Americans.
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William Lowe Waller Sr. was an American politician and attorney. A Democrat, Waller served as the 56th governor of Mississippi from 1972 to 1976. Born near Oxford, Mississippi to a farming family, Waller went to law school and in 1950 established a law practice in Jackson. Nine years later, he was elected District Attorney of Hinds County, Mississippi. Waller attempted to reform the position and provoked the ire of local law enforcement for aggressively prosecuting several cases. In 1964, he twice prosecuted Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, with both trials resulting in deadlocked juries. In 1967, he launched an unsuccessful campaign for governor, finishing fifth in the Democratic primary.
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