1919 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The 1919 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1919, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Theodore G. Bilbo was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate won in a landslide in the general election so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election.

1919 Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff

← 1915 August 26, 1919 1923 →
 
Nominee Lee M. Russell Oscar G. Johnston
Party Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 77,427 69,565
Percentage 52.67% 47.33%

Governor before election

Theodore G. Bilbo
Democratic

Elected Governor

Lee M. Russell
Democratic

Democratic primary

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No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured 4 contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by Lieutenant Governor Lee M. Russell, who defeated Oscar G. Johnston.

Results

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Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 5 August 1919[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lee M. Russell 48,348 32.58
Democratic Oscar G. Johnston 39,206 26.42
Democratic Andrew H. Longino 30,831 20.77
Democratic Ross A. Collins 30,026 20.23
Total votes 148,411 100.00

Runoff

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Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 26 August 1919[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lee M. Russell 77,427 52.67
Democratic Oscar G. Johnston 69,565 47.33
Total votes 146,992 100.00

General election

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In the general election, Russell easily defeated Socialist candidate J. T. Lester, who was also the party's nominee in 1915.

Results

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Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1919[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Lee M. Russell 39,241 96.96
Socialist J. T. Lester 1,231 3.04
Total votes 40,472 100.00
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, 1920-1924. Jackson, Mississippi: Hederman Bros. p. 369.
  2. ^ The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, 1920-1924. Jackson, Mississippi: Hederman Bros. p. 378.
  3. ^ The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi, 1920-1924. Jackson, Mississippi: Hederman Bros. p. 380.