The 1947 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1947, in order to elect the

Governor of Mississippi A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. Incumbent Democrat Fielding L. Wright, who had succeeded to the governorship a year prior following the death of

Thomas L. Bailey Thomas Lowry Bailey (January 6, 1888 – November 2, 1946) was an American politician from the state of Mississippi. He was born in Webster County, Mississippi and graduated from Millsaps College. Bailey was elected to the Mississippi House of ...

, ran for election to a first full term. As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate won in a landslide so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered

tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinati ...

. In fact, this was the first election since 1881 in which the Republican Party even fielded a nominal candidate, former Governor of Nebraska

George L. Sheldon George Lawson Sheldon (May 31, 1870 – April 4, 1960) was an American politician and 14th governor of Nebraska with service from 1907 until 1909. He was the first native of his state to become its governor. He was a Republican from the pr ...

, and the first since 1919 in which any opposition party did.

Democratic primary

In the Democratic primary, incumbent Governor Fielding L. Wright defeated lawyer

Paul B. Johnson Jr. Paul Burney Johnson Jr. (January 23, 1916October 14, 1985) was an American attorney and Democratic politician from Mississippi, serving as governor from 1964 until January 1968. He was a son of former Mississippi Governor Paul B. Johnson Sr. E ...

, the son of former Governor

Paul B. Johnson Sr. Paul Burney Johnson Sr. (March 23, 1880December 26, 1943) was an American attorney, judge, and politician, serving as United States Representative from Mississippi, 1919–1923, and as Governor of Mississippi, 1940–1943. Early career From 190 ...

, and 3 other candidates. He received a majority (55%) of the vote, thereby eliminating the need for a runoff.

Results

General election

Campaign

In the general election, Wright ran against Republican

, who served as

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

from 1907 until 1909. Sheldon moved to Mississippi after his service as governor and served in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

, becoming an influential figure in the state Republican Party. However, the Republicans had such minimal influence in Mississippi at the time that Wright won in a landslide with almost 98% of the vote.

Results

References

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

gubernatorial A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

November 1947 events in the United States United States gubernatorial elections in the 1940s 1947 in Mississippi November 1947 events November 1947 events in North America {{Mississippi-election-stub