1873 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The 1873 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1873, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. This election marked the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Mississippi until 1991, 118 years later.

1873 Mississippi gubernatorial election
← 1869 November 4, 1873 1877 →
 
Nominee Adelbert Ames James L. Alcorn
Party Republican Liberal Republican
Popular vote 73,324 52,857
Percentage 58.11% 41.89%

County results
Ames:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Alcorn:      50–60%      60–70%     70–80%      80–90%      >90%

Governor before election

Ridgley C. Powers
Republican

Elected Governor

Adelbert Ames
Republican

General election

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In the general election, Republican Adelbert Ames, a U.S. Senator who previously served as governor from 1868 until 1870, defeated James L. Alcorn, also a U.S. Senator and former governor. Alcorn's estrangement from Ames, his northern-born colleague, deepened in 1871, as African-Americans became convinced that Alcorn was not taking the problem of white terrorism seriously enough; and, in fact, Alcorn resisted Federal action to suppress the Ku Klux Klan, contending that state authorities were sufficient to handle the task. By 1873 the quarrel had deepened into an intense animosity. Both men ran for governor. Ames was supported by the Radicals and most African Americans, while Alcorn won the votes of conservative whites and most of the scalawags. Ames won by a vote of 73,324 to 52,857. Alcorn withdrew from active politics in the state, emerging to assail the new governor as incapable and an enemy of the people of Mississippi.

Results

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Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1873[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Adelbert Ames 73,324 58.11
Independent Republican James L. Alcorn 52,857 41.89
Total votes 126,181 100.00
Republican hold

References

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  1. ^ Glashan, Roy R. (1979). American Governors and Gubernatorial Elections, 1775-1978. Westport, CT: Meckler Books. pp. 168–169.