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2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election

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The 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to choose the next governor of Mississippi.[1] Incumbent Governor Phil Bryant was ineligible to run for a third term due to term limits. The Democratic Party nominated incumbent Attorney General Jim Hood, the only Democrat holding statewide office in Mississippi; the Republican Party nominated incumbent Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves. In the general election, Reeves defeated Hood by a margin of 5.08%, with Reeves significantly underperforming Donald Trump, who won the state by 18 points in 2016. This was the last gubernatorial election to be held under the state's electoral college system, which was abolished by a 2020 referendum.

Quick facts Nominee, Party ...
2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election

← 2015
November 5, 2019
2023 →
 
Nominee Tate Reeves Jim Hood
Party Republican Democratic
Electoral vote 73 49
Popular vote 459,396 414,368
Percentage 51.91% 46.83%

Reeves:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Hood:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election

Phil Bryant
Republican

Elected Governor

Tate Reeves
Republican

Close

Background

Situated in the Deep South as a socially conservative Bible Belt state, Mississippi is one of the most Republican states in the country. No Democrat has been elected to the governorship since Ronnie Musgrove in 1999. However, the state's Democratic Attorney General, Jim Hood, who had held his office since 2004 and had yet to lose a statewide election, put the Republicans' winning streak of four elections in a row to the test, as the race became unusually competitive. Reeves defeated Hood in the general election by a margin of 5.1%, making this the closest a Democrat had come to winning a Mississippi gubernatorial election since 1999. Hood pulled off the best performance by a Democrat since the 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election, when fellow Democrat Ronnie Musgrove took 45.81% of the vote.[2] Hood flipped the counties of Chickasaw, Lafayette, Madison, Panola, and Warren, which had all voted for Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.

Uniquely among the states, the Constitution of Mississippi at the time established a sort of electoral college at the state level. For the election of governor. Article 5, Section 140 of the state constitution stated that each state House district was to be assigned an electoral vote, and that a candidate running for governor must receive a majority of electoral votes (essentially, they must win a majority of state House districts) in addition to winning a majority of the popular vote in order to be elected governor.[3] Article 5, Section 141 of the state constitution stated that if no candidate won both a popular and electoral vote majority, the state House of Representatives would decide the winner, choosing from the two highest popular vote winners.[4] This provision came into play only one time in the state's history; Democratic candidate Ronnie Musgrove in the 1999 gubernatorial election garnered a plurality, but not a majority; the House selected Musgrove.[5]

In the lead-up to the election, controversy emerged over these constitutional provisions establishing a state system of electoral votes, with a federal lawsuit claiming the provisions were racially biased.[6] These provisions were put in place with the 1890 Mississippi Constitution, itself established by the segregationist Redeemers and overturning the Reconstruction-era 1868 Constitution, as part of Jim Crow Era policy to minimize the power of African Americans in politics.[6] Because of this, as well as gerrymandering that packed African Americans into a small number of districts, the plaintiffs claied the provisions should be struck down on the basis of racial bias.[5]

On November 3, 2020, an amendment was passed removing the electoral college, with 79% of the vote.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in runoff

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Tate Reeves

U.S. Presidents

U.S. Representatives

State-wide officials

State legislators

Mayors

Organizations

Individuals

Bill Waller Jr.

State legislators

Individuals

Polling

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Robert
Foster
Tate
Reeves
Bill
Waller Jr.
Undecided
Mason-Dixon[39] July 24–27, 2019 500 ± 4.5% 13% 41% 31% 15%
Impact Management Group[40] June 10–14, 2019 354 ± 5.3% 9% 50% 19% 28%
Mason-Dixon[41] January 30 – February 1, 2019 400 ± 5.0% 9% 62% – 29%
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More information Hypothetical polling, Poll source ...
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Results

First round results by county:
  Reeves
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  Waller
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  Foster
  •   40–50%
More information Party, Candidate ...
Republican primary results[44]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tate Reeves 187,312 48.9
Republican Bill Waller Jr. 128,010 33.4
Republican Robert Foster 67,758 17.7
Total votes 383,080 100.0
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Runoff

Runoff results by county
  Reeves
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Waller
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
More information Party, Candidate ...
Republican primary runoff results[45]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tate Reeves 179,623 54.1
Republican Bill Waller Jr. 152,201 45.9
Total votes 331,824 100.0
Close

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

  • Michael Brown[48]
  • William Bond Compton Jr., candidate for governor of Mississippi in 2007 and 2011, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014, nominee for the Mississippi House of Representatives in the 83rd district in 2015[48]
  • Robert J. Ray[48]
  • Robert Shuler Smith, Hinds County district attorney[49]
  • Gregory Wash[48]
  • Velesha Williams, former director for the Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition and former U.S. Army officer[50][10]
  • Albert Wilson, businessman and community organizer[51]

Withdrawn

  • Phillip West, former state representative and former mayor of Natchez (endorsed Jim Hood)[52]

Declined

Endorsements

Jim Hood

U.S. Executive Branch officials

Statewide officials
State legislators

Polling

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Jim
Hood
Robert
Shuler Smith
Undecided
Triumph Campaigns[54] January 29, 2018 2,145 ± 1.8% 36% 34% 30%
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More information Hypothetical polling, Poll source ...
Close

Results

Results by county:
  Hood
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
More information Party, Candidate ...
Democratic primary results[55]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jim Hood 208,634 69.0
Democratic Michael Brown 33,247 11.0
Democratic Velesha Williams 20,844 6.9
Democratic Robert Shuler Smith 20,395 6.7
Democratic Robert Ray 5,609 1.8
Democratic William Bond Compton Jr. 5,321 1.8
Democratic Albert Wilson 5,122 1.7
Democratic Gregory Wash 3,218 1.1
Total votes 302,390 100.0
Close

Other candidates

Constitution Party

Declared

  • Bob Hickingbottom[56]

Independents

Declared

  • David Singletary, U.S. Air Force veteran and former hotel owner[57]

General election

Predictions

More information Source, Ranking ...
Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[58] Lean R October 15, 2019
Inside Elections[59] Lean R November 8, 2019
Sabato's Crystal Ball[60] Lean R November 8, 2019
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Debates

More information Dates, Location ...
Dates Location Hood Reeves Link
October 10, 2019 University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg
Participant Participant [61]
October 14, 2019 WCBI Studios
Columbus
Participant Participant [62]
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Endorsements

Tate Reeves (R)

U.S. Executive Branch officials

Members of Congress

Statewide officials

State legislators

Mayors

Organizations

Individuals

Jim Hood (D)

U.S. Executive Branch officials

Statewide officials

State legislators

Mayors

Organizations

Individuals

Polling

%support010203040506012/15/20175/9/20199/26/2019HoodReevesSingletaryHickingbottomOpinion polling for the 2019 Mississippi gub...
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Tate
Reeves (R)
Jim
Hood (D)
David
Singletary (I)
Bob
Hickingbottom (C)
Undecided
NBC/Survey Monkey[77] October 8–22, 2019 1,002 (RV) ± 4.7% 47% 40% 7% 2% 3%
Targoz Market Research[78] October 13–20, 2019 384 (LV) – 47% 46% – – 7%
Mason-Dixon[79] October 17–19, 2019 625 (LV) ± 4.0% 46% 43% – – 9%
Hickman Analytics[80] October 13–16, 2019 508 (LV) ± 4.4% 42% 46% – – –
Hickman Analytics (D)[81][A] September 22–26, 2019 500 (LV) ± 4.0% 42% 45% – – –
Hickman Analytics (D)[82][A] August 11–15, 2019 600 (LV) ± 4.0% 42% 43% – – –
NBC News/SurveyMonkey[83] July 2–16, 2019 1,171 (RV) ± 4.2% 51% 42% – – 6%
Impact Management Group[40] June 10–14, 2019 610 (LV) ± 4.0% 48% 36% 4% – 12%
Hickman Analytics (D)[84][A] May 5–9, 2019 604 (LV) ± 4.0% 40% 45% – – –
Mason-Dixon[41] January 30 – February 1, 2019 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 42% 44% – – 14%
OnMessage Inc. (R)[85][B] January 28–30, 2019 600 (RV) ± 3.5% 51% 36% – – 13%
Mason-Dixon[86] April 12–14, 2018 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 39% 44% – – 17%
Chism Strategies/Millsaps College[87] December 15–19, 2017 578 (RV) ± 4.1% 45% 38% – – 18%
Mason-Dixon[43] December 13–15, 2017 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 37% 43% – – 20%
Close
Hypothetical polling

with Tate Reeves, Jim Hood, and Bill Waller Jr.

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Tate
Reeves (R)
Jim
Hood (D)
Bill
Waller Jr. (I)
Undecided
Mason-Dixon[41] January 30 – February 1, 2019 625 (RV) ± 4.0% 38% 40% 9% 13%
Close

with Bill Waller Jr. and Jim Hood

More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Bill
Waller Jr. (R)
Jim
Hood (D)
David
Singletary (I)
Undecided
NBC News/SurveyMonkey[83] July 2–16, 2019 1,171 (RV) ± 4.2% 53% 41% – 6%
Impact Management Group[40] June 10–14, 2019 610 (LV) ± 4.0% 43% 36% 4% 17%
Close

Results

More information Candidate, Party ...
CandidatePartyPopular voteElectoral vote
Votes%Votes%
Tate ReevesRepublican Party459,39651.917359.84
Jim HoodDemocratic Party414,36846.834940.16
David SingletaryIndependent8,5220.96
Bob HickingbottomConstitution Party2,6250.30
Total884,911100.00122100.00
Source: Mississippi Secretary of State
Close

By county

More information County, Tate Reeves Republican ...
County[88] Tate Reeves
Republican
Jim Hood
Democratic
Various candidates
Other parties
Margin Total
# % # % # % # %
Adams 4,132 38.82% 6,387 60.00% 126 1.18% -2,255 -21.18% 10,645
Alcorn 8,629 75.47% 2,649 23.17% 156 1.36% 5,980 52.30% 11,434
Amite 2,914 55.70% 2,252 43.04% 66 1.26% 662 12.65% 5,232
Attala 3,154 53.31% 2,713 45.86% 49 0.83% 441 7.45% 5,916
Benton 1,526 59.01% 1,025 39.64% 35 1.35% 501 19.37% 2,586
Bolivar 3,224 31.96% 6,761 67.01% 104 1.03% -3,537 -35.06% 10,089
Calhoun 3,009 59.05% 2,029 39.82% 58 1.14% 980 19.23% 5,096
Carroll 2,653 63.82% 1,465 35.24% 39 0.94% 1,188 28.58% 4,157
Chickasaw 2,437 37.70% 3,987 61.68% 40 0.62% -1,550 -23.98% 6,464
Choctaw 1,977 65.03% 1,020 33.55% 43 1.41% 957 31.48% 3,040
Claiborne 472 12.79% 3,178 86.15% 39 1.06% -2,706 -73.35% 3,689
Clarke 3,840 59.93% 2,451 38.25% 117 1.83% 1,389 21.68% 6,408
Clay 2,801 38.38% 4,452 61.00% 45 0.62% -1,651 -22.62% 7,298
Coahoma 1,427 29.40% 3,375 69.54% 51 1.05% -1,948 -40.14% 4,853
Copiah 4,041 41.44% 5,643 57.87% 68 0.70% -1,602 -16.43% 9,752
Covington 3,952 54.63% 3,169 43.81% 113 1.56% 783 10.82% 7,234
DeSoto 22,565 60.92% 13,976 37.73% 502 1.36% 8,589 23.19% 37,043
Forrest 10,380 49.60% 10,223 48.85% 326 1.56% 157 0.75% 20,929
Franklin 2,091 56.98% 1,502 40.93% 77 2.10% 589 16.05% 3,670
George 4,452 81.58% 951 17.43% 54 0.99% 3,501 64.16% 5,457
Greene 2,967 72.58% 1,039 25.42% 82 2.01% 1,928 47.16% 4,088
Grenada 3,685 50.25% 3,556 48.49% 92 1.25% 129 1.76% 7,333
Hancock 8,358 70.89% 3,278 27.80% 154 1.31% 5,080 43.09% 11,790
Harrison 25,836 58.07% 17,955 40.36% 700 1.57% 7,881 17.71% 44,491
Hinds 15,604 21.56% 56,131 77.55% 649 0.90% -40,527 -55.99% 72,384
Holmes 1,037 16.10% 5,347 83.03% 56 0.87% -4,310 -66.93% 6,440
Humphreys 745 25.57% 2,152 73.85% 17 0.58% -1,407 -48.28% 2,914
Issaquena 202 40.16% 293 58.25% 8 1.59% -91 -18.09% 503
Itawamba 5,788 77.49% 1,591 21.30% 90 1.20% 4,197 56.19% 7,469
Jackson 20,888 63.70% 11,433 34.87% 468 1.43% 9,455 28.84% 32,789
Jasper 2,591 43.15% 3,348 55.75% 66 1.10% -757 -12.61% 6,005
Jefferson 369 11.07% 2,928 87.82% 37 1.11% -2,559 -76.75% 3,334
Jefferson Davis 1,676 35.98% 2,946 63.25% 36 0.77% -1,270 -27.26% 4,658
Jones 13,784 64.84% 7,123 33.51% 350 1.65% 6,661 31.34% 21,257
Kemper 1,439 34.76% 2,655 64.13% 46 1.11% -1,216 -29.37% 4,140
Lafayette 7,122 45.98% 8,162 52.69% 207 1.34% -1,040 -6.71% 15,491
Lamar 11,817 67.82% 5,359 30.75% 249 1.43% 6,458 37.06% 17,425
Lauderdale 11,829 55.90% 8,976 42.42% 356 1.68% 2,853 13.48% 21,161
Lawrence 2,985 57.93% 2,088 40.52% 80 1.55% 897 17.41% 5,153
Leake 3,638 52.54% 3,218 46.48% 68 0.98% 420 6.07% 6,924
Lee 14,672 58.29% 10,293 40.89% 207 0.82% 4,379 17.40% 25,172
Leflore 1,946 25.00% 5,625 72.25% 214 2.75% -3,679 -47.26% 7,785
Lincoln 6,957 60.92% 4,342 38.02% 121 1.06% 2,615 22.90% 11,420
Lowndes 8,838 49.64% 8,822 49.55% 143 0.80% 16 0.09% 17,803
Madison 19,008 48.71% 19,670 50.40% 347 0.89% -662 -1.70% 39,025
Marion 5,545 62.54% 3,215 36.26% 107 1.21% 2,330 26.28% 8,867
Marshall 4,197 46.03% 4,850 53.20% 70 0.77% -653 -7.16% 9,117
Monroe 7,054 57.33% 5,149 41.84% 102 0.83% 1,905 15.48% 12,305
Montgomery 2,004 51.57% 1,821 46.86% 61 1.57% 183 4.71% 3,886
Neshoba 5,219 64.58% 2,770 34.27% 93 1.15% 2,449 30.30% 8,082
Newton 4,574 62.22% 2,618 35.61% 159 2.16% 1,956 26.61% 7,351
Noxubee 833 23.28% 2,727 76.22% 18 0.50% -1,894 -52.93% 3,578
Oktibbeha 5,425 42.57% 7,195 56.46% 124 0.97% -1,770 -13.89% 12,744
Panola 5,817 48.65% 5,976 49.98% 164 1.37% -159 -1.33% 11,957
Pearl River 10,083 76.67% 2,856 21.72% 212 1.61% 7,227 54.95% 13,151
Perry 2,975 68.14% 1,327 30.39% 64 1.47% 1,648 37.75% 4,366
Pike 5,937 46.24% 6,772 52.75% 130 1.01% -835 -6.50% 12,839
Pontotoc 6,599 68.44% 2,941 30.50% 102 1.06% 3,658 37.94% 9,642
Prentiss 5,030 64.84% 2,608 33.62% 120 1.55% 2,422 31.22% 7,758
Quitman 813 28.99% 1,937 69.08% 54 1.93% -1,124 -40.09% 2,804
Rankin 29,861 64.01% 16,133 34.58% 660 1.41% 13,728 29.43% 46,654
Scott 4,058 51.54% 3,745 47.57% 70 0.89% 313 3.98% 7,873
Sharkey 449 27.39% 1,178 71.87% 12 0.73% -729 -44.48% 1,639
Simpson 5,454 58.08% 3,784 40.29% 153 1.63% 1,670 17.78% 9,391
Smith 4,250 65.34% 2,158 33.18% 96 1.48% 2,092 32.16% 6,504
Stone 3,628 69.14% 1,530 29.16% 89 1.70% 2,098 39.98% 5,247
Sunflower 1,839 28.74% 4,505 70.41% 54 0.84% -2,666 -41.67% 6,398
Tallahatchie 1,803 37.36% 2,929 60.69% 94 1.95% -1,126 -23.33% 4,826
Tate 4,969 59.67% 3,215 38.61% 143 1.72% 1,754 21.06% 8,327
Tippah 5,205 72.15% 1,867 25.88% 142 1.97% 3,338 46.27% 7,214
Tishomingo 5,113 74.34% 1,654 24.05% 111 1.61% 3,459 50.29% 6,878
Tunica 637 27.34% 1,645 70.60% 48 2.06% -1,008 -43.26% 2,330
Union 6,307 69.52% 2,649 29.20% 116 1.28% 3,658 40.32% 9,072
Walthall 2,657 55.01% 2,128 44.06% 45 0.93% 529 10.95% 4,830
Warren 6,709 46.84% 7,438 51.93% 176 1.23% -729 -5.09% 14,323
Washington 3,336 27.51% 8,667 71.48% 122 1.01% -5,331 -43.97% 12,125
Wayne 4,061 55.09% 3,211 43.56% 100 1.36% 850 11.53% 7,372
Webster 2,993 72.86% 1,077 26.22% 38 0.93% 1,916 46.64% 4,108
Wilkinson 1,057 30.23% 2,314 66.19% 125 3.58% -1,257 -35.96% 3,496
Winston 3,342 51.07% 3,151 48.15% 51 0.78% 191 2.92% 6,544
Yalobusha 2,587 50.16% 2,486 48.21% 84 1.63% 101 1.96% 5,157
Yazoo 3,519 42.86% 4,604 56.08% 87 1.06% -1,085 -13.22% 8,210
Totals459,39651.91%414,36846.83%11,1471.26%45,0285.09%884,911
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Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Reeves won three of four congressional districts.[89]

More information District, Reeves ...
District Reeves Hood Representative
1st 59% 40% Trent Kelly
2nd 32% 67% Bennie Thompson
3rd 54% 45% Michael Guest
4th 63% 35% Steven Palazzo
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See also

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan clients

  1. Poll sponsored by the Jim Hood campaign
  2. Poll sponsored by the Tate Reeves campaign

References

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Timelines

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