# 1975 Mississippi gubernatorial election

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The 1975 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1975, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Bill Waller was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. To date, this was the last time Washington County voted for the Republican candidate.

## Democratic primary

No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured 6 contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by former state representative Cliff Finch, who defeated Lieutenant Governor William Winter.

### Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1975 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | William Winter | 286,652 | 36.29 |
| | Democratic | Cliff Finch | 253,829 | 32.14 |
| | Democratic | Maurice Dantin | 179,472 | 22.72 |
| | Democratic | John Arthur Eaves | 50,606 | 6.41 |
| | Democratic | Leman Gandy | 11,966 | 1.52 |
| | Democratic | David Perkins | 7,369 | 0.93 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 789,894 | 100.00 |

### Runoff

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1975 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Cliff Finch | 442,865 | 57.69 |
| | Democratic | William Winter | 324,749 | 42.31 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 767,614 | 100.00 |

## General election
### Campaign

During the campaign, Finch forged a coalition of African American and working class white voters in a populist-style gubernatorial campaign, adopted the campaign slogan "The working man's friend". This campaign tactic proved popular as Finch was elected over Republican nominee Gil Carmichael and the African American independent candidate Henry Kirksey. Carmichael did, however, draw 45 percent of the vote, an exceptionally high figure for a statewide Republican candidate at that time.

### Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1975 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Cliff Finch | 369,568 | 52.19 |
| | Republican | Gil Carmichael | 319,632 | 45.14 |
| | Independent | Henry Jay Kirksey | 18,883 | 2.67 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 708,083 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

## Analysis

Historian David Sansing described Mississippi's 1975 gubernatorial election as "one of the most unusual in the state's history".