Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice Jr. was an American politician and businessman who served as the 61st governor of Mississippi from 1992 to 2000. He was the first Republican governor of the state since Reconstruction, and the state's first governor elected to two consecutive four-year terms.
Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State auditor of Mississippi from 1984 to 1988, as the 60th governor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992, and as the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996.
Charles Wayne Dowdy is an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Mississippi. He was first elected in a 1981 special election and served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989. He later served as chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.
Patrick Hayes "Pete" Johnson Jr. is an American politician and lawyer who served as State Auditor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992. Originally a Democrat, he joined the Republican Party in 1989, thus becoming the first Republican to hold statewide office in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1991. He served as Federal Co-Chairman of the Delta Regional Authority from 2002 to 2011.
The 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to choose the next governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Governor Phil Bryant was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. The Democratic Party nominated incumbent Attorney General Jim Hood, the only Democrat holding statewide office in Mississippi; the Republican Party nominated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves. In the general election, Reeves defeated Hood by a margin of 5.08%, with Reeves significantly underperforming Donald Trump, who won the state by 17 points in 2016.
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.
The 1995 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1995 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Republican Kirk Fordice won reelection to a second term. This is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were elected governor and lieutenant governor in Mississippi.
The 1987 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1987 to elect the governor of Mississippi.
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.
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.
The 1975 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 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. As of 2022, this was the last time Washington County voted for the Republican candidate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
