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1947 Mississippi gubernatorial election

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1947 Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary

← 1943 November 4, 1947 1951 →
 
Candidate Fielding L. Wright Paul B. Johnson Jr. Jesse M. Byrd
Party Democratic Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 182,771 112,123 37,997
Percentage 51.71% 30.70% 10.40%

Wright:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      100%
Johnson:      40–50%      50–60%
Byrd:      40–50%

Governor before election

Fielding L. Wright
Democratic

Elected Governor

Fielding L. Wright
Democratic

The 1947 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1947, to elect the governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Fielding L. Wright, who had succeeded to the governorship a year prior following the death of Thomas L. Bailey, ran for election to a first full term.

As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate won in a landslide, so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election. In fact, this was the first election since 1881 in which the Republican Party even fielded a nominal candidate, former Governor of Nebraska George L. Sheldon, and the first since 1919 in which any opposition party did.

Democratic primary

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In the Democratic primary, incumbent Governor Fielding L. Wright defeated lawyer Paul B. Johnson Jr., the son of former Governor Paul B. Johnson Sr., and three other candidates. He received a majority (55%) of the vote, thereby eliminating the need for a runoff.

Results

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Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1947[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Fielding L. Wright (incumbent) 202,014 55.31
Democratic Paul B. Johnson Jr. 112,123 30.70
Democratic Jesse M. Byrd 37,997 10.40
Democratic Frank L. Jacobs 8,750 2.40
Democratic William L. Spinks 4,344 1.19
Total votes 365,228 100.00

General election

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Campaign

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In the general election, Wright ran against Republican George L. Sheldon, who served as Governor of Nebraska from 1907 until 1909. Sheldon moved to Mississippi after his service as governor and served a single term in the Mississippi House of Representatives, becoming an influential figure in the state Republican Party. However, the Republicans had such minimal influence in Mississippi at the time that Wright won in a landslide with almost 98% of the vote.

Results

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Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1947[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Fielding L. Wright (incumbent) 166,095 97.59
Republican George L. Sheldon 4,102 2.41
Total votes 170,197 100.00
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ "MS Governor D Primary 1947". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "MS Governor 1947". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.