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County results 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% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Mississippi |
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The 1978 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 1978. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator James Eastland decided to retire.
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. [1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Maurice Dantin | 102,968 | 29.01% | |
Democratic | Cliff Finch | 98,751 | 27.83% | |
Democratic | Charles L. Sullivan | 78,702 | 22.18% | |
Democratic | William L. Waller | 74,465 | 20.98% | |
Democratic | Robert L. Robinson | 15,879 | 4.20% | |
Democratic | Richard C. Tedford | 4,201 | 1.11% | |
Democratic | Helen M. Williams | 2,937 | 0.78% | |
Total votes | 377,903 | 100.00% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Maurice Dantin | 235,904 | 65.35% | |
Democratic | Cliff Finch | 125,109 | 34.66% | |
Total votes | 361,013 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Thad Cochran | 50,857 | 68.97% | |
Republican | Charles W. Pickering | 22,880 | 31.03% | |
Total votes | 73,737 | 100% |
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]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Thad Cochran | 267,302 | 45.29% | |||
Democratic | Maurice Dantin | 187,541 | 31.77% | |||
Independent | Charles Evers | 133,646 | 22.64% | |||
Independent | Henry Jay Kirksey | 1,747 | 0.30% | |||
Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
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.
James Oliver Eastland was an American attorney, plantation owner, and politician from Mississippi. A Democrat, he served in the United States Senate in 1941 and again from 1943 until his resignation on December 27, 1978. Eastland was a leader of Southern resistance against racial integration during the civil rights movement, often speaking of African Americans as "an inferior race." Eastland has been called the "Voice of the White South" and the "Godfather of Mississippi Politics."
William Thad Cochran was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator for Mississippi from 1978 to 2018. A Republican, he previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1978.
Charles Willis Pickering Sr. is an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and, briefly, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Charles Clifton Finch was an American politician who served as the 57th governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980.
The 1978 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies.
The 1966 United States Senate elections were elections on November 8, 1966, for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats, thereby breaking Democrats' 2/3rds supermajority. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. Democrats were further reduced to 63–37, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
Erik Robert Fleming is an American politician who was a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives representing the 72nd District from 1999 to 2008. He has been the Democratic nominee twice for one of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. He faced incumbent Republican Thad Cochran in the November 4, 2008 general election, and was defeated. Erik was the Director of Policy with the Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He now resides in the metro Atlanta area and continues to advocate for African American issues as the host of the podcast, A Moment with Erik Fleming.
The 1988 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Connie Mack III won the open seat, becoming the first Republican to hold this seat since Reconstruction in 1875.
The 1984 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 5, 1984. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Thad Cochran rode the coattails of President Ronald Reagan, who won 49 states in concurrent presidential election, and won re-election to a second term. Cochran was the first Republican ever to be re-elected to the Senate from Mississippi.
The 1988 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator John C. Stennis decided to retire instead of seeking a seventh full term. Republican Trent Lott won the open seat, becoming the first of his party to win this seat since 1874.
The 2014 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican Senator Thad Cochran, first elected in 1978, ran for re-election to a seventh term. Primary elections were held on June 3, 2014.
The 1988 United States Senate election in Virginia was held on November 8, 1988. Democratic former governor Chuck Robb succeeded Republican Senator Paul Trible, who opted not to run for re-election. As of 2024, this is the last time a Democratic Senatorial candidate won every county and independent city in Virginia.
The 1988 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Georgia voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. Georgia was won by incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas, who was running against Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Bush ran with Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as Vice President, and Dukakis ran with Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
The 1988 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 8, 1988. All fifty states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose seven electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.
The 1966 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 8, 1966.
The 1972 United States Senate election in Mississippi was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator James Eastland won re-election to his sixth term. To date, this was the last time that the Democrats won the Class 2 Senate seat in Mississippi. Mississippi was one of fifteen states alongside Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia that were won by Republican President Richard Nixon in 1972 that elected Democrats to the United States Senate.
The 2018 United States Senate special election in Mississippi took place on November 6, 2018.
A special election to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Mississippi's 4th congressional district was held on June 23, 1981, with a runoff held two weeks later on July 6. Democrat Wayne Dowdy defeated Republican Liles Williams in the runoff by 912 votes. Dowdy replaced Republican U.S. Representative Jon Hinson, who resigned from Congress following his arrest for engaging in sodomy.
J. Maurice Dantin was an American attorney and politician.