1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

November 2, 1999 January 4, 2000 (contingent election)

Nominee Ronnie Musgrove Michael Parker Party Democratic Republican Electoral vote 61 61 House vote 86 36 Popular vote 379,033 370,691 Percentage 49.6% 48.5%

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 via contingent election

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.

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. 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 five other candidates.

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1999

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

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.

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: