1979 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The 1979 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1979, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Cliff Finch was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. As of 2020, this was the most recent election in which a Democrat won over 60 percent of the statewide vote in a gubernatorial election.

1979 Mississippi gubernatorial election

November 7, 1979

Nominee William Winter Gil Carmichael Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 413,620 263,702 Percentage 61.1% 38.9%

County Results Winter:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Carmichael:      50-60%

Governor before election Cliff Finch Democratic Elected Governor William Winter Democratic

Democratic primary

No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured 6 contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by former Lieutenant Governor William Winter, who defeated Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Gandy.

Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1979[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Evelyn Gandy	224,746	30.49
	Democratic	William Winter	183,944	24.25
	Democratic	John Arthur Eaves, Sr.	143,411	19.45
	Democratic	Jim Herring	135,812	18.42
	Democratic	Charles M. Deaton	34,700	4.71
	Democratic	Richard Barrett	14,550	1.97
Total votes			737,163	100.00

Runoff

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1979[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Winter	386,174	56.62
	Democratic	Evelyn Gandy	295,835	43.38
Total votes			682,009	100.00

Republican primary

In the Republican primary, businessman and 1975 nominee Gil Carmichael defeated farmer and businessman Leon Bramlett.

Results

Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary, 1979[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Gil Carmichael	17,216	53.05
	Republican	Leon Bramlett	15,236	46.95
Total votes			32,452	100.00

General election

Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1979[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	William Winter	413,620	61.07
	Republican	Gil Carmichael	263,702	38.93
Total votes			677,322	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

1. "MS Governor D Primary 1979". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
2. "MS Governor D Primary Runoff 1979". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
3. "MS Governor R Primary 1979". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
4. "MS Governor 1979". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 4, 2016.