1988 United States Senate election in Mississippi

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1988 United States Senate election in Mississippi
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
←  1982 November 8, 1988 1994  →
  Trent Lott 98th Congress.png Wayne Dowdy.png
Nominee Trent Lott Wayne Dowdy
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote510,380436,339
Percentage53.91%46.09%
1988 United States Senate election in Mississippi results map by county.svg
County results
Lott:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Dowdy:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
U.S. senator before election

John C. Stennis
Democratic

Elected U.S. Senator

Trent Lott
Republican

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.

Contents

This was the first time since the end of Reconstruction in 1877 that Mississippi had two Republican senators serving concurrently. [1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Dean Pittman managed Dowdy's campaign. [2]

During the campaign Molpus criticized Dowdy for his low voting attendance of 68 percent, a line of rhetoric which was later used by Republican nominee Trent Lott in the general election. [2]

Results

Democratic primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Wayne Dowdy 189,954 53.46%
Democratic Dick Molpus152,12642.81%
Democratic Gilbert Fountain13,2763.74%
Total votes355,356 100%

Republican primary

Candidates

General

During Lott's tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives he opposed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day while Dowdy supported those bills. Robert Goodman, who Bill Minor named Dr. Feelgood for being able to portray candidates positively, was hired by Lott's campaign to create advertisements in anticipation to attacks on his voting record by Dowdy. Lott voted in favor of cutting Social Security spending while Dowdy voted against, but Lott argued that he was more likely to support Social Security as his mother lived off of it while Dowdy's family was worth $60 million. [4]

Blacks for Trent Lott was formed by Isadora Hyde and Cleve McDowell, a former field director for the NAACP in the Delta region, worked for Lott's campaign. Dowdy's campaign criticized Lott for only having hired two black people out of the 163 people he had hired since 1972. Lott claimed that he hired many black workers, but "I don't keep count" and later claimed he hired five or six black workers. [5]

Country musician Mel Tillis made radio ads for him targeted at rural areas in northern Mississippi. [6] Dowdy received 87% of the black vote. [7]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Trent
Lott
Republican		Wayne
Dowdy
Democratic		Other /
Undecided
The Clarion-Ledger /WLOX [8] [9] October 31 – November 2, 1988817 LV±3.5%48%34%18%

Endorsements

List of Trent Lott endorsements
Municipal officials
Newspapers
List of Wayne Dowdy endorsements
Newspapers

Results

General election results [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Trent Lott 510,380 53.91%
Democratic Wayne Dowdy436,33946.09%
Total votes946,719 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 96.
  2. 1 2 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 103.
  3. ↑ "MS US Senate - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 102.
  5. ↑ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 104-105.
  6. ↑ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 105.
  7. ↑ Black & Black 1992, p. 356.
  8. 1 2 3 Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 106.
  9. ↑ "Bush, Lott way out front in statewide polls". The Clarion-Ledger . November 6, 1988. p. 1A. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Moreland, Steed & Baker 1991, p. 104.
  11. ↑ "MS US Senate". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 17, 2019.

Works cited

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