The 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to choose the next governor of Mississippi. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
On November 3, 2020, an amendment was passed removing the electoral college, with 79% of the vote.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Tate Reeves, lieutenant governor of Mississippi
Eliminated in runoff
- Bill Waller Jr., former chief justice of the Mississippi State Supreme Court and son of former Democratic Governor William "Bill" Waller. Sr (1972–1976)
Eliminated in primary
- Robert Foster, Mississippi state representative
Withdrawn
- Hal Marx, mayor of Petal (endorsed Tate Reeves)
Declined
- Thomas Duff, businessman
- Lynn Fitch, Mississippi state treasurer (running for Mississippi attorney general)
- Gerard Gibert, businessman and lottery board member
- Philip Gunn, speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives
- Trent Lott, former U.S. senator
- Chris McDaniel, Mississippi states senator and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 and 2018 (endorsed Tate Reeves)
- Mike Randolph, presiding justice of the Mississippi State Supreme Court
- Andy Taggart, former chief of staff to Governor Kirk Fordice (running for Mississippi attorney general)
Endorsements
Tate Reeves
U.S. Presidents
- Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States
U.S. Representatives
State-wide officials
- Haley Barbour, former governor of Mississippi
- Sam Britton, public service commissioner (Southern District)
- Phil Bryant, governor of Mississippi
- Pete Ricketts, governor of Nebraska
State legislators
- Chris McDaniel, Mississippi State Senator
Mayors
- Fofo Gilich, Biloxi, Mississippi
- Hal Marx, Petal, Mississippi
- Dane Maxwell, Pascagoula, Mississippi
- Chipper McDermott, Pass Christian, Mississippi
- Rusty Quave, D'Iberville, Mississippi
- Mike Smith, Waveland, Mississippi
Organizations
- Americans for Prosperity Action
- Mississippi Manufacturers Association
- Mississippi Right to Life PAC
- NRA Political Victory Fund
Individuals
- Brett Favre, Super Bowl champion
- Jake Mangum, professional baseball outfielder
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Jim Hood, Mississippi attorney general
Eliminated in primary
- Michael Brown
- 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
- Robert J. Ray
- Robert Shuler Smith, Hinds County district attorney
- Gregory Wash
- Velesha Williams, former director for the Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition and former U.S. Army officer
- Albert Wilson, businessman and community organizer
Withdrawn
- Phillip West, former state representative and former mayor of Natchez (endorsed Jim Hood)
Declined
- Anthony Witherspoon, mayor of Magnolia
Other candidates
Constitution Party
Declared
Independents
Declared
- David Singletary, U.S. Air Force veteran and former hotel owner
General election
Endorsements
Tate Reeves (R)
U.S. Executive Branch officials
- Mike Pence, 48th vice president of the United States
- Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States
Members of Congress
- Cindy Hyde-Smith, U.S. senator (R-MS)
- Trent Kelly, U.S. representative (R-MS)
- Roger Wicker, U.S. senator (R-MS)
Statewide officials
- Haley Barbour, former governor of Mississippi
- Phil Bryant, governor of Mississippi
- Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida
- Pete Ricketts, governor of Nebraska
State legislators
- Robert Foster, Mississippi state representative
- Chris Johnson, Mississippi state representative
- Chris McDaniel, Mississippi state senator
- John A. Polk, Mississippi state senator
Mayors
- Fofo Gilich, Biloxi, Mississippi
- Hal Marx, Petal, Mississippi
- Dane Maxwell, Pascagoula, Mississippi
- Chipper McDermott, Pass Christian, Mississippi
- Rusty Quave, D'Iberville, Mississippi
- Mike Smith, Waveland, Mississippi
Organizations
- Americans for Prosperity Action
- Mississippi Manufacturers Association
- Mississippi Right to Life PAC
- NRA Political Victory Fund
Individuals
- Brett Favre, Super Bowl champion
- Jake Mangum, professional baseball outfielder
Jim Hood (D)
U.S. Executive Branch officials
- Ray Mabus, 75th United States secretary of the Navy and former governor of Mississippi
- Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States
Statewide officials
- John Bel Edwards, governor of Louisiana
State legislators
- Stacey Abrams, 2018 Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
- Earle S. Banks, Mississippi state representative
- Chris Bell, Mississippi state representative
- David Blount, Mississippi state senator
- Jarvis Dortch, Mississippi state representative
- Sollie Norwood, Mississippi state senator
Mayors
- Jason Shelton, mayor of Tupelo
Organizations
- Democratic Governors Association
- Mississippi Association of Educators
Individuals
- Grey DeLisle, voice actress and activist
Polling
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Results
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Adams (largest city: Natchez)
- Chickasaw (largest city: Houston)
- Clay (largest city: West Point)
- Copiah (largest city: Crystal Springs)
- Issaquena (largest city: Mayersville)
- Jasper (largest city: Bay Springs)
- Kemper (largest city: De Kalb)
- Lafayette (largest city: Oxford)
- Madison (largest city: Madison)
- Marshall (largest city: Holly Springs)
- Oktibbeha (largest city: Starkville)
- Panola (largest city: Batesville)
- Pike (largest city: McComb)
- Quitman (largest city: Marks)
- Sharkey (largest city: Rolling Fork)
- Tallahatchie (largest city: Charleston)
- Warren (largest city: Vicksburg)
- Yazoo (largest city: Yazoo City)
By congressional district
Reeves won three of four congressional districts.