1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election

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1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
  1987 November 5, 1991 1995  
  KirkFordice (cropped).jpg Ray Mabus (MS) (cropped).png
Nominee Kirk Fordice Ray Mabus
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote361,500338,459
Percentage50.83%47.59%

1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Fordice:     40-50%     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%
Mabus:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%

Governor before election

Ray Mabus
Democratic

Elected Governor

Kirk Fordice
Republican

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.

Contents

This is the last gubernatorial election where the Democratic candidate carried any of three counties (Hancock, Harrison and Jackson) along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Democratic primary

Incumbent Democrat Ray Mabus won the Democratic primary, defeating former U.S. Representative Wayne Dowdy and George "Wagon Wheel" Blair. According to The New York Times, Mabus had to fend off charges that he was "arrogant and out of touch with Mississippi politically", and was perceived as a "Porsche politician in a Chevy pickup state". [1]

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1991 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Ray Mabus (incumbent) 368,679 50.75
Democratic Wayne Dowdy 299,17241.18
Democratic George "Wagon Wheel" Blair58,6148.07
Total votes726,465 100.00

Republican primary

No candidate received a majority in the Republican primary, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by businessman Kirk Fordice, who defeated State Auditor Pete Johnson.

Results

Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary, 1991 [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Kirk Fordice 28,411 44.64
Republican Pete Johnson 27,651 43.44
Republican Bobby Clanton7,58911.92
Total votes63,651 100.00

Runoff

Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary runoff, 1991 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Kirk Fordice 31,753 60.63
Republican Pete Johnson 20,62239.37
Total votes52,375 100.00

General election

Fordice won 65 legislative districts against the 54 won by Mabus. This was above the 62 districts required to win. [5] Fordice spent $901,823 during the campaign while Mabus spent $3.59 million. Fordice was the first successful gubernatorial candidate since 1975 to spend less than $1 million during their campaign. [6]

Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1991 [7] [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Kirk Fordice 361,500 50.83%
Democratic Ray Mabus (incumbent)338,45947.59%
Independent Shawn O'Hara11,2531.58%
Total votes711,212 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

References

  1. Applebome, Peter (September 16, 1991). "Mississippi Governor's Record at Issue". New York Times.
  2. "MS Governor D Primary 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  3. "MS Governor R Primary 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  4. "MS Governor R Primary Runoff 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  5. "Fordice wins by tally of legislative districts, 65-54". Enterprise-Journal. November 27, 1991. p. 4. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Governor's race cost near $5.5 million". Greenwood Commonwealth. January 12, 1996. p. 5. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "MS Governor 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  8. "1991 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Mississippi". David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 2, 2016.