1995 Mississippi gubernatorial election

none January 2025 September 2023 1995 Mississippi gubernatorial election presidential Mississippi Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg 1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election 1991 1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election 1999 no November 7, 1995 150x150px KirkFordice (cropped).jpg Kirk Fordice Republican Party (United States) 455,261 55.56% File:Dick Molpus cropped.jpg Dick Molpus Democratic Party (United States) 364,210 44.44% 1995 Mississippi gubernatorial election results map by county.svg 170px County resultsFordice: #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70% #d72f30 70–80%Molpus: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% #3933e5 80–90%Tie: #AE8BB1 50% Governor Kirk Fordice Republican Party (United States) Kirk Fordice Republican Party (United States) The 1995 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1995 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Republican Kirk Fordice won reelection to a second term. This is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were elected governor and lieutenant governor in Mississippi. Democratic primary In 1993, John Grisham, a novelist and former state legislator, helped Molpus raise over $200,000.November 17, 1993 Grisham helps Molpus raise campaign funds 2A The Clarksdale Press Register https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-clarksdale-press-register/104284581/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20240724024643/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-clarksdale-press-register/104284581/ July 24, 2024 Newspapers.com Mississippi Secretary of State Dick Molpus won the Democratic primary, defeating business consultant and 1991 independent candidate Shawn O'Hara. Results Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1995http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=380636 MS Governor D Primary 1995 Our Campaigns December 2, 2016 Democratic Party (United States) Dick Molpus 396,816 77.10 Democratic Party (United States) Shawn O'Hara 117,833 22.90 514,649 100.00 Republican primary Incumbent Governor Kirk Fordice won the Republican primary, defeating two minor candidates. Results Mississippi Republican gubernatorial primary, 1995http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=380635 MS Governor R Primary 1995 Our Campaigns December 2, 2016 Republican Party (United States) Kirk Fordice (incumbent) 117,907 93.74 Republican Party (United States) George "Wagon Wheel" Blair 4,919 3.91 Republican Party (United States) Richard O'Hara 2,956 2.35 125,782 100.00 General election Molpus sought to prevail with a coalition of blacks, white progressives, and possibly white blue collar workers.George 2015 187 By the 1990s, Mississippi's politics were trending in an increasingly conservative direction and the interest in reform initiated by Winter's administration was fading.George 2015 183 Fordice's position was bolstered by the improving economic and fiscal situation of the state in the 1990s, and early polls indicated that he had a large lead. Since both men faced minimal opposition for their party's nominations, they were able to concentrate their rhetoric on each other early in their campaigns.Lamis 1999 263 Anticipating that Molpus would campaign on education improvements, Fordice proposed a conservative education planNash Taggart 2009 251 which entailed allowing local school districts to fund private schools with state funds. Harp Lonnie Governor's race in Miss. pivots on education Education Week 15 8 October 25, 1995 Molpus argued that such a scheme would undermine public schools. Wilkie Curtis Getting personal in Mississippi : Animosity appears to drive the campaign for governor The Boston Globe city 2 October 29, 1995Nash Taggart 2009 251 Both candidates proposed tax cuts, though through different means. Molpus suggested reducing the state sales tax on food from 7 percent to 3.5 percent with a corresponding cut of 1.5 percent in overall government expenditures, saying that such a scale-back would encourage legislators to maximize government efficiency. Fordice, who favored an income tax reduction, accused Molpus of flip-flopping, since Molpus had supported a sales tax increase in 1992.Nash Taggart 2009 252–253 Both men supported bond issues to finance economic development efforts, though Molpus accused Fordice of employing general obligation bonds in a "helter-skelter and out of focus" manner that created too much debt. Molpus stated he would create a new statewide bonding program with "a clearer, long-term vision". McEntee Christopher Trends in the Region: Mississippi Bonds Will Endure Campaign The Bond Buyer 10 August 31, 1995 407402383 The campaign was marked by personal animosity between Molpus and Fordice. Early in the contest Molpus stated that he had "irreconcilable differences" with Fordice's policy positions. Fordice had used the same phrase to describe marriage troubles with his wife, Pat, in 1993. At a joint appearance before business conference in April, Fordice brought his wife on stage to defend their marriage and accused Molpus of taking "thinly-veiled cheap shot" against their relationship.Lamis 1999 263 Molpus maintained that his words had been misunderstood, but the media widely reported the exchange.Lamis 1999 263 Fordice also demanded that Molpus resign from his office, since the secretary of state was responsible for overseeing elections and thus had a possible conflict of interest in doing so while running for another state office. Molpus refused, calling the solicitation "ridiculous". Franklin Brad Molpus refuses to resign post Associated Press Hattiesburg American 10 August 31, 1995 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/279241602/ June 5, 2022 June 5, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220605112729/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/279241602/ live Both men participated in the first-ever political debate held at the Neshoba County Fair in August.Nash Taggart 2009 252 A bitter exchange occurred after the moderator questioned Fordice about his troubled marriage, with Fordice answering in defense of himself while pointing his finger at Molpus. Molpus said to the governor, "Your private life doesn't interest me ... Your public life is what appalls me," causing the crowd to go into uproar.Nash Taggart 2009 253 In reference to the 1964 Mississippi Burning murders, Fordice said, "I'll tell you this. I don't believe we need to keep running this state by Mississippi Burning and apologizing for what happened 30 years ago. This is the '90s. This is now. We are on a roll. We've got the best race relations in the United States of America." Edsall Thomas B. Mississippi Turning: GOP Tide Rises on Racial Rift; Gov. Fordice Is in Vanguard of New South The Washington Post A4 final August 13, 1995 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/08/13/mississippi-turning-gop-tide-rises-on-racial-rift/e5c4fe5d-3d42-40ef-a23a-5e8eb07ccca0/ June 2, 2022 June 12, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220612203205/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/08/13/mississippi-turning-gop-tide-rises-on-racial-rift/e5c4fe5d-3d42-40ef-a23a-5e8eb07ccca0/ live He finished his remarks by saying, "Never apologize! Never look back! Forward together!" Wilkie Curtis Themes from a troubled past : At political fair in Mississippi, hard line on crime, charges of intolerance The Boston Globe city 2 August 6, 1995 Molpus responded by referring to his 1989 speech, "I apologized to the family, the mother and father and sisters of those three young men who lost their life in Mississippi. I make no apologies to you about that... Kirk Fordice leads more by venom than vision." In a subsequent interview, he accused the governor of being "openly antagonistic to blacks." In October Molpus' campaign ran a television advertisement featuring his wife criticizing Fordice's education policies. Fordice subsequently mocked her voice at a lunch with journalists. Molpus denounced Fordice's mimicry, saying "Frankly, I'd like to take him out behind the woodshed." Sack Kevin An Underdog Democrat Is Gaining in Mississippi The New York Times A1, A12 November 4, 1995 Several days later, Fordice approached Molpus after a televised appearance and told him, "This 61-year-old man will take you to the woodshed and I'll whip your ass".Nash Taggart 2009 254 Molpus hoped to leverage the incident to his advantage by appealing to more women voters, presenting himself as a gentleman acting in defense of his wife's honor. A poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research in late October showed the margins of support between the two candidates narrowing, with Molpus having picked up additional support from women. Fordice won the November 7, earning 455,261 votes (55.6 percent) to Molpus' 364,210 votes (44.4 percent). Mississippians Re-elect Republican Fordice CQ Almanac 1995 https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal95-1099884 June 3, 2022 Molpus received about 25,000 more votes than Democrat Mabus had in 1991. He garnered less than 20 percent of the white vote while Fordice won fifty-one of the fifty-eight majority white counties,Nash Taggart 2009 254Lamis 1999 264 while Molpus won twenty-one of the state's twenty-four majority black counties.Lamis 1999 264 His campaign manager suggested that white voters wanted to "punish" him for his 1989 comments on the Mississippi Burning murders.George 2015 190 Molpus' supporters accused Fordice of prevailing due to the use of racist dog whistles, a charge which the governor's backers disputed.Lamis 1999 264 Fordice spent $3.16 million during the campaign while Molpus spent $2.38 million.January 12, 1996 Governor's race cost near $5.5 million 5 Greenwood Commonwealth https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-greenwood-commonwealth/104293622/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20240724024829/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-greenwood-commonwealth/104293622/ July 24, 2024 Newspapers.com Results Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1995http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=16345 MS Governor 1995 Our Campaigns December 2, 2016http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ 1995 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Mississippi David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections December 2, 2016 Republican Party (United States) Kirk Fordice (incumbent) 455,261 55.56% Democratic Party (United States) Dick Molpus 364,210 44.44% 819,471 100.00 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) References 30em Works cited George Carol V. R. One Mississippi, Two Mississippi: Methodists, Murder, and the Struggle for Racial Justice in Neshoba County Oxford University Press 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=Tv3VBgAAQBAJ 9780190231095 Lamis Alexander P. Southern Politics in the 1990s Louisiana State University Press 1999 https://books.google.com/books?id=dLykDAAAQBAJ 9780807166765 Nash Jere Taggart Andy Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2008 second University Press of Mississippi 2009 https://books.google.com/books?id=avs12QS3EZ4C 9781604733570 1995 gubernatorial Mississippi Category:November 1995 in the United States Category:1995 in Mississippi