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Jim Hood on Principles & Values
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1890s election law designed to disenfranchise blacks
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.It is generally conceded the language was added
to the 1890s Constitution by the white ruling class as a safeguard to ensure that African Americans, who were still a majority in Mississippi, would not win election to statewide office. By that time, laws also were being put in place to disenfranchise
black voters and legislative districts were not based on population.
Legislation to change the Constitution so that the top vote-getter would win statewide posts is likely to die this session as it has in other sessions.
Source: Biloxi Sun-Herald on 2019 Mississippi Gubernatorial race
, Feb 4, 2019
1890 law requires winning majority AND state House districts
An anti-democratic relic of Mississippi's 1890 Jim Crow constitution could stand in Hood's way--even if he wins the most votes on Election Day.??? The provision requires gubernatorial candidates to win both a majority of the statewide vote and a majority
of the 122 districts that make up the state House. If no candidate wins both the popular vote and a majority of districts, the state House then picks the winner from the top two finishers. That stacks the race against Hood or any other Democrat twice
over: first, gerrymandered districts make it much harder for a Democrat to win a majority of House ; and second, because the GOP majority in the House could simply install the Republican candidate as governor even if he loses the statewide vote. That
effectively gerrymanders the gubernatorial election in favor of the Republicans, since Hood would have to win the statewide vote by a wide margin in order to also carry a majority of House districts and avoid having his fate determined by the House.
Source: DailyKos.com blog on 2019 Mississippi Gubernatorial race
, Oct 5, 2018
End self-dealing in Jackson
[In his campaign announcement speech], Hood took a subtle shot at Tate Reeves. In July, several outlets raised questions about what influence Reeves might have wielded to build a $2 million frontage road connecting his gated neighborhood to a state
highway. Reeves denies any involvement. Hood's office has been investigating that allegation."I'm tired of self-dealing in Jackson," Hood said. "People are more worried about paving private driveways than they are about anything else."
Source: Mississippi Today on 2019 Mississippi Gubernatorial race
, Oct 3, 2018
Page last updated: Apr 17, 2020
