1975 Mississippi gubernatorial election

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.

1975 Mississippi gubernatorial election
November 4, 1975
 
Nominee Cliff Finch Gil Carmichael
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 369,568 319,632
Percentage 52.19% 45.14%
County results

Finch:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90%

Carmichael:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%
Governor before election

Bill Waller
Democratic

 Elected Governor

Cliff Finch
Democratic

Elections in Mississippi
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Democratic primary

No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured 6 contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by former state representative Cliff Finch, who defeated Lieutenant Governor William Winter.

Results
Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1975[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic William Winter 286,652 36.29
Democratic Cliff Finch 253,829 32.14
Democratic Maurice Dantin 179,472 22.72
Democratic John Arthur Eaves 50,606 6.41
Democratic Leman Gandy 11,966 1.52
Democratic David Perkins 7,369 0.93
Total votes 789,894 100.00

Runoff
Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1975[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cliff Finch 442,865 57.69
Democratic William Winter 324,749 42.31
Total votes 767,614 100.00

General election

Campaign

During the campaign, Finch forged a coalition of African American and working class white voters in a populist-style gubernatorial campaign, adopted the campaign slogan "The working man's friend". This campaign tactic proved popular as Finch was elected over Republican nominee Gil Carmichael and the African American independent candidate Henry Kirksey. Carmichael did, however, draw 45 percent of the vote, an exceptionally high figure for a statewide Republican candidate at that time.

Results
Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1975[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cliff Finch 369,568 52.19
Republican Gil Carmichael 319,632 45.14
Independent Henry Jay Kirksey 18,883 2.67
Total votes 708,083 100.00
Democratic hold

Analysis

Historian David Sansing described Mississippi's 1975 gubernatorial election as "one of the most unusual in the state's history".[4]

References
  1. "MS Governor D Primary 1975". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  2. "MS Governor D Primary Runoff 1975". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  3. "MS Governor 1975". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  4. Sansing 2016, p. 215.

Works cited
  • Sansing, David G. (2016). Mississippi Governors: Soldiers, Statesmen, Scholars, Scoundrels (first ed.). Oxford: Nautilus Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-936946-81-5.


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