Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1991

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1991

November 5, 1991

Nominee Kirk Fordice Ray Mabus Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 361,500 338,459 Percentage 50.83 47.59

Governor before election Ray Mabus Democratic Elected Governor Kirk Fordice Republican

The 1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1991, in order 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 Adelbert Ames in 1873.

Democratic primary

Incumbent Democrat Ray Mabus won the Democratic primary, defeating former U.S. Representative Wayne Dowdy and George "Wagon Wheel" Blair.

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1991^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ray Mabus	368,679	50.75
	Democratic	Wayne Dowdy	299,172	41.18
	Democratic	George "Wagon Wheel" Blair	58,614	8.07
Total votes			726,465	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^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kirk Fordice	28,411	44.64
	Republican	Pete Johnson	27,651	43.44
	Republican	Bobby Clanton	7,589	11.92
Total votes			63,651	100.00

Runoff

Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary runoff, 1991^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kirk Fordice	31,753	60.63
	Republican	Pete Johnson	20,622	39.37
Total votes			52,375	100.00

Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1991^[4][5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kirk Fordice	361,500	50.83
	Democratic	Ray Mabus	338,459	47.59
	Independent	Shawn O'Hara	11,253	1.58
Total votes			711,212	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

References

1. "MS Governor D Primary 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
2. "MS Governor R Primary 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
3. "MS Governor R Primary Runoff 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
4. "MS Governor 1991". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
5. "1991 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Mississippi". David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 2, 2016.