1939 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The 1939 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1939, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Hugh L. White was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second 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.

1939 Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff

← 1935 November 7, 1939 1943 →
 
Nominee Paul B. Johnson Sr. Martin S. Conner
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 163,620 135,724
Percentage 54.66% 45.34%

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

Conner:      50-60%      60-70%

Governor before election

Hugh L. White
Democratic

Elected Governor

Paul B. Johnson Sr.
Democratic

Democratic primary

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No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured seven contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by former U.S. Representative Paul B. Johnson Sr., who defeated former Governor Martin S. Conner.

Results

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Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1939[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul B. Johnson Sr. 103,099 33.53
Democratic Martin S. Conner 79,305 25.79
Democratic Thomas L. Bailey 58,987 19.18
Democratic Lester C. Franklin 31,845 10.36
Democratic J. B. "Billy" Snider 24,244 7.88
Democratic Mark W. Gantt 5,214 1.70
Democratic George P. Ritchey 4,796 1.56
Total votes 307,490 100.00

Runoff

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Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1939[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul B. Johnson Sr. 163,620 54.66
Democratic Martin S. Conner 135,724 45.34
Total votes 299,344 100.00

General election

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In the general election, Johnson ran unopposed.

Results

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Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1939[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Paul B. Johnson Sr. 61,614 100.00
Total votes 61,614 100.00
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ "MS Governor D Primary 1939". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "MS Governor D Primary Runoff 1939". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  3. ^ "MS Governor 1939". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 7, 2016.