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.
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 County results Musgrove: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Parker: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 in a contingent election. On January 4, 2000, the House voted 86–36, which was nearly along partisan lines, to elect Musgrove governor.[1] As of 2024, this remains the last time a Democrat was officially elected Governor of Mississippi to date.
Democratic primary
Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove won the Democratic primary, defeating former Commissioner of Public Safety Jim Roberts and 5 other candidates.
Results
| 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
| 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; a candidate must win both a majority of the vote and a majority of the state house districts to be elected.
With neither candidate winning the required popular and electoral majority, the House of Representatives, where the Democrats had a supermajority at the time, decided between the two candidates with the highest popular vote. Parker refused to concede, and the House elected Musgrove 86-36 along partisan lines.[1]
| Candidate | Party | Popular vote | Electoral vote | House vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Ronnie Musgrove | Democratic Party | 379,033 | 49.62 | 61 | 50.00 | 86 | 70.49 | |
| Michael Parker | Republican Party | 370,691 | 48.52 | 61 | 50.00 | 36 | 29.51 | |
| Jerry Ladner | Reform Party | 8,208 | 1.07 | |||||
| Helen Perkins | Independent | 6,005 | 0.79 | |||||
| Total | 763,937 | 100.00 | 122 | 100.00 | 122 | 100.00 | ||
| Source:[4][5] | ||||||||