1951 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The 1951 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1951, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Fielding L. Wright was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second full term. As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran unopposed in the general election so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

1951 Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff

November 6, 1951

Nominee Hugh L. White Paul B. Johnson Jr. Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 201,222 191,966 Percentage 51.18% 48.82%

County results White:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Johnson:      50-60%      60-70%

Governor before election Fielding L. Wright Democratic Elected Governor Hugh L. White Democratic

Democratic primary

No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured 7 contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by former Governor Hugh L. White, who defeated lawyer Paul B. Johnson Jr., son of former Governor Paul B. Johnson Sr.

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hugh L. White	94,721	23.19
	Democratic	Paul B. Johnson Jr.	86,152	21.09
	Democratic	Sam Lumpkin	84,401	20.66
	Democratic	Ross Barnett	81,674	19.99
	Democratic	Mary D. Cain	24,757	6.06
	Democratic	Jesse M. Byrd	23,676	5.80
	Democratic	Kelly Hammond	6,952	1.70
Total votes			402,333	100.00

Runoff

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hugh L. White	201,222	51.18
	Democratic	Paul B. Johnson Jr.	191,966	48.82
Total votes			393,188	100.00

General election

In the general election, White ran unopposed.

Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1951

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Hugh L. White	43,422	100.00
Total votes			43,422	100.00
	Democratic hold