# 1955 Mississippi gubernatorial election

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The 1955 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1955, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Hugh L. White was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term. As was common at the time, the Democratic candidate ran unopposed in the general election, so therefore the Democratic primary was the real contest, and winning the primary was considered tantamount to election. This election was the first Mississippi gubernatorial election since 1931 that the winner of the gubernatorial election was of a different party than the incumbent president.

## Democratic primary

No candidate received a majority in the Democratic primary, which featured five contenders, so a runoff was held between the top two candidates. The runoff election was won by Attorney General James P. Coleman, who defeated lawyer Paul B. Johnson Jr., son of former Governor Paul B. Johnson Sr.

### Results

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary, 1955 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paul B. Johnson Jr. | 122,423 | 28.06 |
| | Democratic | James P. Coleman | 104,140 | 23.87 |
| | Democratic | Fielding L. Wright | 94,410 | 21.64 |
| | Democratic | Ross Barnett | 92,785 | 21.27 |
| | Democratic | Mary D. Cain | 22,469 | 5.15 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 436,227 | 100.00 |

### Runoff

Mississippi Democratic gubernatorial primary runoff, 1955 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | James P. Coleman | 233,237 | 55.64 |
| | Democratic | Paul B. Johnson Jr. | 185,924 | 44.36 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 419,161 | 100.00 |

## General election

In the general election, Coleman ran unopposed.

### Results

Mississippi gubernatorial election, 1955 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | James P. Coleman | 40,707 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 40,707 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |