Ronnie Musgrove in 2019 MS Governor's race

On Principles & Values: 1999: elected by state House vote, after plurality win

Imagine a scenario where Hood garners 48% of the vote and Reeves gets 47%. In that scenario, the election for governor could be decided by the 122 members of the Mississippi House of Representatives. Mississippi's 1880s Constitution [requires that a] candidate for governor or for the other seven statewide offices garners a majority vote, and also requires the winning candidate to win a majority of the 122 House districts in order to capture the seat.

After the 1999 election, one of the most memorable votes in the history of the House occurred when Republican Mike Parker--who lost the popular vote--refused to concede to Musgrove in the race for governor. Musgrove won a plurality of the votes and amazingly both candidates won 61 of the state's 122 House districts. By a vote of 86 to 36 the Democratic-controlled House elected fellow Democrat Musgrove. Most argued that it only made sense that the person who won the most votes should win the Governor's Mansion.

Source: Biloxi Sun-Herald on 2019 Mississippi Gubernatorial race Feb 4, 2019

The above quotations are from 2019 Mississippi Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts from 2019 Mississippi Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts by Ronnie Musgrove. Click here for other excerpts by other Governors.
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Page last updated: Nov 28, 2019