1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election

Last updated

1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
←  1979 November 8, 1983 1987  →
  William Allain (1985) (cropped).png 3x4.svg
Nominee William Allain Leon Bramlett
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote409,209288,764
Percentage55.10%38.88%
1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Allain:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%
Bramlett:     50-60%
Governor before election

William Winter
Democratic

Elected Governor

William Allain
Democratic

The 1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1983, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat William Winter was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. As of 2023, this is the last time that Hinds County has voted for the Republican candidate.

Contents

As of 2025, this is the most recent Mississippi gubernatorial election to feature major party nominees who are now both deceased.

Democratic primary

No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by Attorney General William Allain, who defeated former Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Gandy.

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1983 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Evelyn Gandy 316,304 38.19
Democratic William Allain 293,348 35.42
Democratic Mike Sturdivant172,52620.83
Democratic Lonnie C. Johnson32,8613.97
Democratic Billy Davis 13,1721.59
Total votes828,211 100.00

Runoff

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1983 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic William Allain 405,348 52.42
Democratic Evelyn Gandy 367,95347.58
Total votes773,301 100.00

General election

Campaign

In the campaign, the private detective Rex Armistead, formerly with the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, helped to spread rumors that Allain had sexual intercourse with two African-American male transvestites. [3] [4] [5] Allain denied the charges. [4] The transvestites went on the record with a lie detector but in 1984, after the election had been held, they claimed that they had never met Allain and had been paid for their testimony. [3] [6] Bramlett lost the general election, 288,764 (38.9 percent) to Allain's 409,209 (55.1 percent). Charles Evers, the African American civil rights activist from Fayette, ran as an Independent and polled 30,593 (4.1 percent). [7] Gil Carmichael, who defeated Bramlett for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in a very close race in 1979, ran in 1983 for lieutenant governor as a low-budget independent candidate in an apparent attempt to gain a larger share of the African-American vote against the incumbent Democrat Brad Dye, who prevailed with 464,080 votes (64.3 percent) to Carmichael's 257,623 (35.7 percent). Bramlett, spending over $1.1 million total (and outspending Allain as well) [8] outpolled Carmichael by just over 31,000 votes when both were on the ballot as de facto ticket mates. [7]

Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1983 [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic William Allain 409,209 55.10
Republican Leon Bramlett 288,76438.88
Independent Charles Evers 30,4934.12
Independent Billie H. Taylor7,8691.06
Independent Henry McMullen Williams6,3020.85
Total votes742,737 100.00
Democratic hold

Analysis

Historian David Sansing described the 1983 contest as "one of the most tumultuous campaigns in the history of Mississippi politics." [10] Journalist Charles Overby wrote that the sex scandal accusations were "a lot stranger than fiction". [11] The allegations and the 1983 campaign have been covered in several works, including William Franklin West's 1995 master's thesis, The Case of the Reluctant Story: The Allain Sex Scandal; a chapter in Jere Nash and Andy Taggart's Mississippi Politics; and several pages in John Howard's 199 book on gay history in Mississippi, Men Like That. [11] Through the passage by Mississippi voters of a 1986 amendment to the state constitution, Allain became the first Governor in a century eligible to run for reelection in 1987, but up to the filing deadline for candidates that year declined to say whether or not he would, and the deadline passed without him filing to. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Allain</span> American politician (1928–2013)

William A. Allain was an American politician and lawyer who held office as the 59th governor of Mississippi as a Democrat from 1984 to 1988. Born in Adams County, Mississippi, he attended the University of Notre Dame and received a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Finch</span> American politician

Charles Clifton Finch was an American politician who served as the 57th governor of Mississippi from 1976 to 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1999 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Governor Kirk Fordice, a member of the Republican Party who had been first elected in 1991, was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1991 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Ray Mabus unsuccessfully ran for reelection to a second term. This election marked the first time a Republican was elected Governor of Mississippi since Reconstruction, when Adelbert Ames won the office in 1873.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1987 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1987 to elect the governor of Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1979 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1979, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Cliff Finch was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. As of 2020, this was the most recent election in which a Democrat won over 60 percent of the statewide vote in a gubernatorial election in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1975 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1975, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Bill Waller was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. To date, this was the last time Washington County voted for the Republican candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1959 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1959 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1959, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat James P. Coleman 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; therefore, the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1951 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1951, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Fielding L. Wright was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second full term. As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran unopposed in the general election; therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1947 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1947, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1943 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1943 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1943 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Paul B. Johnson Sr. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1939 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1939 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1939, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1935 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1935 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1935, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Martin S. Conner 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; therefore, the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1931 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1931 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1931, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Theodore G. Bilbo 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1927 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1927 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1927, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Dennis Murphree, as he had not served a full term, was eligible for and ran for election. As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran unopposed in the general election; therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1923 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1923 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1923, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Lee M. Russell 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1903 Mississippi gubernatorial election</span>

The 1903 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1903, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Andrew H. Longino was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Carmichael</span> American businessman and politician (1927–2016)

Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael was an American businessman and politician. Born in Columbia, Mississippi, he attended Texas A&M University and served in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War, earning a Silver Lifesaving Medal for helping rescue crewmen from a sinking tanker. In June 1950 Carmichael was hired by the Dow Jones & Company to sell its newspaper, The Wall Street Journal. After eight years, he joined a friend in distributing cars in Shreveport, Louisiana. He later became a partner in a car dealership in Meridian, Mississippi, before taking over the business. A member of the Republican Party, he became involved in politics in the 1960s, making two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the Mississippi State Legislature. Carmichael also ran for a U.S. Senate seat in 1972 and in 1975 ran for the office of Governor of Mississippi, the first serious Republican contender for the post in decades. He lost a narrow race and made another unsuccessful bid in 1979. He also launched an unsuccessful independent campaign in 1983 to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi. From the 1970s to the 1990s he served on various national transportation advisory boards. He died in 2016.

Leon Crow Bramlett Jr. was an American farmer, football player, and politician. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, he briefly played football at the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama before being admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played from 1943 to 1947. He briefly worked as an end coach for the team while serving in the United States Marine Corps before returning to Clarksdale to farm cotton. He served on the Mississippi Marketing Council and chaired the Mississippi Democratic Party from 1968 to 1972, during a time when the party was split between conservative "Regulars", including Bramlett, and pro-civil rights "Loyalists". In 1976 the Regulars and the Loyalists reached a compromise and in response Bramlett joined the Republican Party. He lost the 1979 Republican gubernatorial primary in Mississippi but secured the nomination four years later before losing in the general election. He retired from farming in 2001 and served on U.S. Senator Thad Cochran's staff for several years, dying in 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "MS Governor D Primary 1983". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  2. ↑ "MS Governor D Primary Runoff 1983". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  3. 1 2 John Howard, Men Like That: A Southern Queer History, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1999, pp. 281–297
  4. 1 2 "Elections '83; A Winning Round", Time magazine
  5. ↑ Warren Johansson, William A. Percy, Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence, Routledge, 1994, p. 156
  6. ↑ "Transvestites withdraw allegations", Rock Hill Herald , archived from the original on January 24, 2013
  7. 1 2 "Leon Bramlett". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ The Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS), January 11, 1984.
  9. ↑ "MS Governor 1983". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ Sansing 2016, p. 225.
  11. 1 2 Sansing 2016, p. 226.
  12. ↑ Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS), June 6, 1987, page 1.

Works cited

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.