1995 Mississippi gubernatorial election
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 County results Fordice: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Molpus: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Tie: 50-60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1995 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1995 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Republican Kirk Fordice won reelection to a second term. This is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were elected governor and lieutenant governor in Mississippi.
Democratic primary
In 1993, John Grisham, a novelist and former state legislator, helped Molpus raise over $200,000.[1] Mississippi Secretary of State Dick Molpus won the Democratic primary, defeating business consultant and 1991 independent candidate Shawn O'Hara.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dick Molpus | 396,816 | 77.10 | |
| Democratic | Shawn O'Hara | 117,833 | 22.90 | |
| Total votes | 514,649 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Incumbent Governor Kirk Fordice won the Republican primary, defeating two minor candidates.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kirk Fordice (incumbent) | 117,907 | 93.74 | |
| Republican | George "Wagon Wheel" Blair | 4,919 | 3.91 | |
| Republican | Richard O'Hara | 2,956 | 2.35 | |
| Total votes | 125,782 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Molpus sought to prevail with a coalition of blacks, white progressives, and possibly white blue collar workers.[4] By the 1990s, Mississippi's politics were trending in an increasingly conservative direction and the interest in reform initiated by Winter's administration was fading.[5] Fordice's position was bolstered by the improving economic and fiscal situation of the state in the 1990s, and early polls indicated that he had a large lead.[6] Since both men faced minimal opposition for their party's nominations, they were able to concentrate their rhetoric on each other early in their campaigns.[7] Anticipating that Molpus would campaign on education improvements, Fordice proposed a conservative education plan[8] which entailed allowing local school districts to fund private schools with state funds.[9] Molpus argued that such a scheme would undermine public schools.[6][8]
Both candidates proposed tax cuts, though through different means. Molpus suggested reducing the state sales tax on food from 7 percent to 3.5 percent with a corresponding cut of 1.5 percent in overall government expenditures, saying that such a scale-back would encourage legislators to maximize government efficiency.[10] Fordice, who favored an income tax reduction, accused Molpus of flip-flopping, since Molpus had supported a sales tax increase in 1992.[11] Both men supported bond issues to finance economic development efforts, though Molpus accused Fordice of employing general obligation bonds in a "helter-skelter and out of focus" manner that created too much debt.[10] Molpus stated he would create a new statewide bonding program with "a clearer, long-term vision".[10]
The campaign was marked by personal animosity between Molpus and Fordice.[6] Early in the contest Molpus stated that he had "irreconcilable differences" with Fordice's policy positions. Fordice had used the same phrase to describe marriage troubles with his wife, Pat, in 1993. At a joint appearance before business conference in April, Fordice brought his wife on stage to defend their marriage and accused Molpus of taking "thinly-veiled cheap shot" against their relationship.[7] Molpus maintained that his words had been misunderstood, but the media widely reported the exchange.[7] Fordice also demanded that Molpus resign from his office, since the secretary of state was responsible for overseeing elections and thus had a possible conflict of interest in doing so while running for another state office. Molpus refused, calling the solicitation "ridiculous".[12]
Both men participated in the first-ever political debate held at the Neshoba County Fair in August.[13] A bitter exchange occurred after the moderator questioned Fordice about his troubled marriage, with Fordice answering in defense of himself while pointing his finger at Molpus. Molpus said to the governor, "Your private life doesn't interest me ... Your public life is what appalls me," causing the crowd to go into uproar.[14] In reference to the 1964 Mississippi Burning murders, Fordice said, "I'll tell you this. I don't believe we need to keep running this state by Mississippi Burning and apologizing for what happened 30 years ago. This is the '90s. This is now. We are on a roll. We've got the best race relations in the United States of America."[15] He finished his remarks by saying, "Never apologize! Never look back! Forward together!"[16] Molpus responded by referring to his 1989 speech, "I apologized to the family, the mother and father and sisters of those three young men who lost their life in Mississippi. I make no apologies to you about that... Kirk Fordice leads more by venom than vision."[15] In a subsequent interview, he accused the governor of being "openly antagonistic to blacks."[16]
In October Molpus' campaign ran a television advertisement featuring his wife criticizing Fordice's education policies. Fordice subsequently mocked her voice at a lunch with journalists. Molpus denounced Fordice's mimicry, saying "Frankly, I'd like to take him out behind the woodshed."[17] Several days later, Fordice approached Molpus after a televised appearance and told him, "This 61-year-old man will take you to the woodshed and I'll whip your ass".[18] Molpus hoped to leverage the incident to his advantage by appealing to more women voters,[6] presenting himself as a gentleman acting in defense of his wife's honor. A poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research in late October showed the margins of support between the two candidates narrowing, with Molpus having picked up additional support from women.[17]
Fordice won the November 7, earning 455,261 votes (55.6 percent) to Molpus' 364,210 votes (44.4 percent).[19] Molpus received about 25,000 more votes than Democrat Mabus had in 1991. He garnered less than 20 percent of the white vote while Fordice won fifty-one of the fifty-eight majority white counties,[18][20] while Molpus won twenty-one of the state's twenty-four majority black counties.[20] His campaign manager suggested that white voters wanted to "punish" him for his 1989 comments on the Mississippi Burning murders.[21] Molpus' supporters accused Fordice of prevailing due to the use of racist dog whistles, a charge which the governor's backers disputed.[20]
Fordice spent $3.16 million during the campaign while Molpus spent $2.38 million.[22]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kirk Fordice (incumbent) | 455,261 | 55.56% | |
| Democratic | Dick Molpus | 364,210 | 44.44% | |
| Total votes | 819,471 | 100.00 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
- ^ "Grisham helps Molpus raise campaign funds". The Clarksdale Press Register. November 17, 1993. p. 2A. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "MS Governor D Primary 1995". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ "MS Governor R Primary 1995". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ George 2015, p. 187.
- ^ George 2015, p. 183.
- ^ a b c d Wilkie, Curtis (October 29, 1995). "Getting personal in Mississippi : Animosity appears to drive the campaign for governor". The Boston Globe (city ed.). p. 2.
- ^ a b c Lamis 1999, p. 263.
- ^ a b Nash & Taggart 2009, p. 251.
- ^ Harp, Lonnie (October 25, 1995). "Governor's race in Miss. pivots on education". Education Week. Vol. 15, no. 8.
- ^ a b c McEntee, Christopher (August 31, 1995). "Trends in the Region: Mississippi Bonds Will Endure Campaign". The Bond Buyer. p. 10. ProQuest 407402383
- ^ Nash & Taggart 2009, pp. 252–253.
- ^ Franklin, Brad (August 31, 1995). "Molpus refuses to resign post". Hattiesburg American. Associated Press. p. 10. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- ^ Nash & Taggart 2009, p. 252.
- ^ Nash & Taggart 2009, p. 253.
- ^ a b Edsall, Thomas B. (August 13, 1995). "Mississippi Turning: GOP Tide Rises on Racial Rift; Gov. Fordice Is in Vanguard of New South". The Washington Post (final ed.). p. A4. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ a b Wilkie, Curtis (August 6, 1995). "Themes from a troubled past : At political fair in Mississippi, hard line on crime, charges of intolerance". The Boston Globe (city ed.). p. 2.
- ^ a b Sack, Kevin (November 4, 1995). "An Underdog Democrat Is Gaining in Mississippi". The New York Times. pp. A1, A12.
- ^ a b Nash & Taggart 2009, p. 254.
- ^ "Mississippians Re-elect Republican Fordice". CQ Almanac. 1995. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ a b c Lamis 1999, p. 264.
- ^ George 2015, p. 190.
- ^ "Governor's race cost near $5.5 million". Greenwood Commonwealth. January 12, 1996. p. 5. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "MS Governor 1995". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
- ^ "1995 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Mississippi". David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
Works cited
- George, Carol V. R. (2015). One Mississippi, Two Mississippi: Methodists, Murder, and the Struggle for Racial Justice in Neshoba County. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190231095.
- Lamis, Alexander P., ed. (1999). Southern Politics in the 1990s. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 9780807166765.
- Nash, Jere; Taggart, Andy (2009). Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2008 (second ed.). University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781604733570.