Carroll Gartin

Carroll Gartin (September 14, 1913 – December 19, 1966) was an American Democratic politician from Laurel in Jones County in southeastern Mississippi, who served three terms as the 22nd lieutenant governor of his state. He was born in Meridian, in eastern Mississippi.[1]

Carroll Gartin
Gartin at the inauguration of Paul B. Johnson Jr. in 1964
22nd Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi
In office 1952–1960 1964 – December 19, 1966
Governor	Hugh L. White James P. Coleman
Preceded by	Sam Lumpkin Paul B. Johnson Jr.
Succeeded by	Paul B. Johnson Jr. Charles L. Sullivan
Personal details
Born	William Carroll Gartin III September 14, 1913 Meridian, Lauderdale County Mississippi, USA
Died	December 19, 1966 (aged 53) Laurel, Jones County Mississippi
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Janie Gavin
Profession	Attorney

He served his first two terms from 1952 to 1960 under fellow Democrats, Governors Hugh L. White and James P. Coleman. He returned to the office for two years under Paul B. Johnson Jr. but died midway in his term. In the 1963 campaign, Gartin accused Johnson's opponent, the Republican nominee Rubel Phillips of Corinth and Jackson, of having created an unnecessary general election, a scenario that was new to Mississippi. As a former Democrat, Gartin said that Phillips could have simply remained in the Democratic primary and thus voided the need for a third election.

Johnson's campaign was buoyed by outgoing Governor Ross Barnett and Democratic State Chairman Bidwell Adam. Johnson topped Phillips, 62%-38%, and Gartin defeated the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, Stanford Morse, a state senator from Gulfport by an even larger 74%-26%.[2]

Gartin was a staunch white supremacist and a former supporter of Governor and US Senator Theodore Bilbo.[3] He was a member of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, which was devoted to preserving racial segregation in the state.[4]

Gartin was a delegate to the 1956 Democratic National Convention, which nominated the Stevenson-Kefauver ticket.

Gartin died of a heart attack in 1966 at Jones County Community Hospital, hours after he had checked in for chest pains.[5][6]

The Carroll Gartin Justice Building (32°18′19″N 90°10′56″W), in the state capital, Jackson, is named after him and houses the Mississippi Supreme Court, the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and the state law library.

Gartin, an attorney, practiced law with Republican Charles W. Pickering.[4]

References

1. Mississippi. Secretary of State (1964). Mississippi Official and Statistical Register. ISSN 0196-4755. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
2. Hathorn, Billy (November 1985). "Challenging the Status Quo: Rubel Lex Phillips and the Mississippi Republican Party (1963–1967)". The Journal of Mississippi History (4): 256.
3. "POLITICAL NOTES: Bilbo Rides Again". TIME. June 28, 1954. Archived from the original on January 5, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
4. Wilentz, Sean (May 13, 2003). "The racist skeletons in Charles Pickering's closet". Salon.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
5. "Lt.-Gov Carroll Gartin Dies Of Heart Attack". Biloxi, MS: Biloxi Daily Herald. December 19, 1966.
6. "Caroll Gartin Suffers a Fatal Heart Attack". Hattiesburg, MS: Hattiesburg American. December 19, 1966.

• Political Graveyard
• Carroll Gartin's obituary