1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

← 1995 November 2, 1999
January 4, 2000 (contingent election)
2003 →
 
Nominee Ronnie Musgrove Michael Parker
Party Democratic Republican
Electoral vote 61 61
House vote 86 36
Popular vote 379,033 370,691
Percentage 49.6% 48.5%

County results
Musgrove:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Parker:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

Kirk Fordice
Republican

Elected Governor

Ronnie Musgrove
Democratic
via contingent election

The 1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1999 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Governor Kirk Fordice, a member of the Republican Party who had been first elected in 1991, was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.

In the general election, Democrat Lieutenant Governor Ronnie Musgrove won a plurality of the vote over Republican Congressman Mike Parker. Per the Mississippi Constitution, since no candidate had received a majority of the vote, the election was decided by the Mississippi House of Representatives in a contingent election. On January 4, 2000, the House voted 86–36, which was nearly along partisan lines, to elect Musgrove governor.[1] As of 2024, this remains the last time a Democrat was officially elected governor of Mississippi to date.

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