1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi

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1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
  1972 November 7, 1978 1984  
  Thad Cochran 1977 Congressional photo.jpg 3x4.svg JFK and Charles Evers (cropped).jpg
Nominee Thad Cochran Maurice Dantin Charles Evers
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Popular vote267,302187,541133,646
Percentage45.29%31.77%22.64%

1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi results map by county.svg
1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi results map by CD.svg
Cochran:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Dantin:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Evers:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. senator before election

James Eastland
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Thad Cochran
Republican

The 1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 7, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator James Eastland decided to retire.

Contents

Republican Thad Cochran won the open seat, becoming the first Republican to win a U.S. Senate election in Mississippi since the end of Reconstruction in 1881. [1] It was also the first time since 1877 that a Republican won this Senate seat.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Maurice Dantin102,96829.01%
Democratic Cliff Finch98,75127.83%
Democratic Charles L. Sullivan78,70222.18%
Democratic William L. Waller74,46520.98%
Democratic Robert L. Robinson15,8794.20%
Democratic Richard C. Tedford4,2011.11%
Democratic Helen M. Williams2,9370.78%
Total votes377,903 100.00%

Runoff results

Democratic primary runoff results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Maurice Dantin 235,904 65.35%
Democratic Cliff Finch125,10934.66%
Total votes361,013 100%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Thad Cochran 50,857 68.97%
Republican Charles W. Pickering22,88031.03%
Total votes73,737 100%

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Evers was the first African American elected since the Reconstruction era to be mayor in any Mississippi city, in 1969. He ran as an independent, and as a result his campaign divided the Democrats and allowed Cochran to win the Senate seat with a 45 percent plurality. [7] This made Cochran the first Republican in a century to win a statewide election (other than a presidential election) in Mississippi. [8] Eastland resigned on December 27, 1978 to give Cochran a seniority advantage over new incoming senators. [9]

Results

Mississippi U.S. Senate Election, 1978 [10] [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Thad Cochran 267,302 45.29%
Democratic Maurice Dantin 187,54131.77%
Independent Charles Evers 133,64622.64%
Independent Henry Jay Kirksey 1,7470.30%
Republican gain from Democratic

See also

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References

  1. Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 96.
  2. 1 2 "Primary Elections In Eight States Dominated By California Tax Vote". The Ledger . The New York Times. June 6, 1978. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2015 via Google News.
  3. "MS US Senate - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  4. "MS US Senate - D Runoff Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  5. "MS US Senate - R Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  6. Manning-Miller, Don. "Henry J. Kirksey (1915 — 2005)". Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  7. Black, Earl; Merle Black (2003). The Rise of Southern Republicans . Harvard University Press. p.  118. ISBN   978-0-674-01248-6.
  8. "Results of Elections Across the Nation". The Blade . November 7, 1978. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  9. "Eastland Quits Early To Aid His Successor". The Blade. Associated Press. December 27, 1978. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  10. "Our Campaigns - MS US Senate Race - Nov 07, 1978".
  11. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives (1979). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 1978" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office.

Works cited