1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The 1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1999, in order 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.

1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election
November 2, 1999
 
Nominee Ronnie Musgrove Michael Parker
Party Democratic Republican
Electoral vote 86 36
Popular vote 379,033 370,691
Percentage 49.62% 48.52%
County results
Musgrove:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Parker:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election

Kirk Fordice
Republican

 Elected Governor

Ronnie Musgrove
Democratic

Elections in Mississippi

In the general election, Democrat Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove won a plurality of the vote over Republican Congressman Mike Parker. Per the Mississippi Constitution, since no candidate had received a majority of the vote, the election was decided by the Mississippi House of Representatives. On January 4, 2000, the House voted 86-36 along partisan lines to elect Musgrove governor.[1] As of 2020, this is the most recent election in which a Democrat was elected Governor of Mississippi.

Democratic primary

Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove won the Democratic primary, defeating former Commissioner of Public Safety Jim Roberts and 5 other candidates.

Results
Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1999[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ronnie Musgrove 309,519 56.74
Democratic Jim Roberts 142,617 26.14
Democratic Richard Barrett 32,383 5.94
Democratic Katie Perrone 16,476 3.02
Democratic Charles Bell 13,159 2.41
Democratic Carrie Harris 11,645 2.14
Democratic James W. "Bootie" Hunt 11,572 2.12
Total votes 537,371 100.00

Republican primary

Former U.S. Representative Michael Parker won the Republican primary, defeating former Lieutenant Governor Eddie Briggs and four other candidates.

Results
Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary, 1999[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mike Parker 77,674 50.72
Republican Eddie Briggs 42,763 27.92
Republican Charlie Williams 17,176 11.22
Republican Dan Gibson 11,348 7.41
Republican George "Wagon Wheel" Blair 2,453 1.60
Republican Shawn O'Hara 1,728 1.13
Total votes 153,142 100.00

General election

Results

Under the 1890 Constitution of Mississippi, gubernatorial candidates must win a majority of the popular vote. In addition, the Mississippi House of Representatives acts as an electoral college.

The constitution prescribes that in the absence of a popular- and electoral-vote majority, the House of Representatives, where the Democrats had a supermajority at the time, decides between the top two candidates by popular vote. Parker refused to concede, and the House elected Musgrove 86-36 along partisan lines.[1]

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1999[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ronnie Musgrove 379,033 49.62%
Republican Michael Parker 370,691 48.52%
Reform Jerry Ladner 8,208 1.07%
Independent Helen Perkins 6,005 0.79%
Total votes 763,937 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2012-10-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "MS Governor D Primary 1999". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  3. "MS Governor R Primary 1999". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  4. "MS Governor 1999". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  5. "1999 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Mississippi". David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
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