1999 Mississippi gubernatorial 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.

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

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.

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

Former U.S. Representative Michael Parker won the Republican primary, defeating former Lieutenant Governor Eddie Briggs and four other candidates.

Under the 1890 Constitution of Mississippi, gubernatorial candidates must win a majority of the popular vote. In addition, the Mississippi House of Representatives 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.^[1]