The 1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1999 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 Governor

Kirk Fordice Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice Jr. () (February 10, 1934 – September 7, 2004), was an American politician and businessman who served as the 61st Governor of Mississippi from 1992 to 2000. He was the first Republican governor of the state ...

, a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

who had been first elected in 1991, was ineligible to run for reelection due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

. In the general election,

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Lieutenant Governor

Ronnie Musgrove David Ronald Musgrove (born July 29, 1956) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from January 16, 1996 to January 11, 2000 and as the 62nd Governor of Mississippi from January ...

won a plurality of the vote over Republican Congressman Mike Parker. Per the

Mississippi Constitution The Constitution of Mississippi is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Mississippi delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the state government. Mississippi's original constitution was adopted at a constituti ...

, since no candidate had received a

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster 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 ...

in a contingent election. On January 4, 2000, the House voted 86-36 along partisan lines to elect Musgrove governor. As to date, this remains the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Mississippi.

Democratic primary

Lieutenant Governor

won the Democratic primary, defeating former Commissioner of Public Safety Jim Roberts and 5 other candidates.

Results

Republican primary

Former U.S. Representative Michael Parker won the Republican primary, defeating former Lieutenant Governor

Eddie Briggs Eddie Jerome Briggs (born October 14, 1949) is an American politician and lawyer. After service in the Mississippi State Senate, Briggs was the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, a position which he held from 1992 to 1996. He was the first ...

and four other candidates.

Results

General election

Results

Under the 1890

Constitution of Mississippi The Constitution of Mississippi is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Mississippi delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the state government. Mississippi's original constitution was adopted at a constitut ...

, gubernatorial candidates must win a majority of the popular vote. In addition, 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 ...

acts as an electoral college; a candidate must win both a majority of the vote ''and'' a majority of the state house districts to be elected. With neither candidate winning the required popular and electoral majority, the House of Representatives, where the Democrats had a supermajority at the time, decided between the two candidates with the highest popular vote. Parker refused to concede, and the House elected Musgrove 86-36 along partisan lines.

References

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

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 ...

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