# 2015 Mississippi gubernatorial election

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vte :
The 2015 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 2015, to elect the governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Republican governor Phil Bryant ran for re-election to a second and final term in office. This is the highest percentage that a Republican has ever won in a gubernatorial election in Mississippi.
The election gained national news coverage and attention due to the unexpected Democratic nominee selection of truck driver and former firefighter, Robert Gray, who had not had any political experience prior to his candidacy.
As of 2023, this is by far the best performance by a Republican in a gubernatorial election in Mississippi. This is also the only time that the following counties have voted Republican for governor: Clay, Marshall, Quitman, Sharkey, and Tallahatchie.

## Background

Mississippi is one of nine states and territories that has lifetime limits of two terms for its governor. In 2011, with incumbent Republican governor Haley Barbour term-limited, Republican Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant was elected to succeed him. Bryant won the Republican primary with 59% of the vote and then defeated the Democratic nominee, Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree, with 61% of the vote.

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Phil Bryant, incumbent governor
* Mitch Young

#### Declined

* Chris McDaniel, state senator and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014
* Michael Watson, state senator

### Result

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Phil Bryant (incumbent) | 256,689 | 91.86% |
| | Republican | Mitch Young | 22,738 | 8.14% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 279,427 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Robert Gray, truck driver and retired firefighter
* Valerie Short, physician
* Vicki Slater, attorney

#### Declined

* Travis Childers, former U.S. representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2014
* Jim Hood, Attorney General of Mississippi (running for re-election)
* Bill Luckett, Mayor of Clarksdale and candidate for governor in 2011
* Dick Molpus, former Secretary of State of Mississippi and nominee for governor in 1995
* Brandon Presley, Commissioner for the Northern District of the Mississippi Public Service Commission and former mayor of Nettleton (running for re-election)

### Result

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Robert Gray | 152,087 | 50.80% |
| | Democratic | Vicki Slater | 91,104 | 30.43% |
| | Democratic | Valerie Short | 56,177 | 18.77% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 299,368 | 100.00% |

## Reform Party nomination
### Candidate

* Shawn O'Hara, perennial candidate

## General election
### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe R | October 26, 2015 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe R | October 27, 2015 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | October 29, 2015 |
| DKE | Safe R | October 29, 2015 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Phil Bryant (R) | Robert Gray (D) | Shawn O'Hara (Ref) | Undecided |
| Mason-Dixon | October 21–25, 2015 | 625 | ± 4% | 66% | 28% | 1% | 5% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Phil Bryant (R) | Jim Hood (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | July 10–13, 2014 | 691 | ± 3.7% | 44% | 33% | — | 22% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Phil Bryant (R) | Brandon Presley (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | July 10–13, 2014 | 691 | ± 3.7% | 49% | 26% | — | 25% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Phil Bryant (R) | Valerie Short (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Mason-Dixon | April 21–23, 2015 | 625 | ± 4% | 63% | 28% | 3% | 6% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Phil Bryant (R) | Vicki Slater (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Mason-Dixon | April 21–23, 2015 | 625 | ± 4% | 61% | 30% | 2% | 7% |

### Results

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Popular vote | Popular vote | Electoral vote | Electoral vote |
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | Phil Bryant (incumbent) | Republican Party | 480,399 | 66.24 | 85 | 69.67 |
| | Robert Gray | Democratic Party | 234,858 | 32.38 | 37 | 30.33 |
| | Shawn O'Hara | Reform Party | 9,950 | 1.37 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 725,207 | 100.00 | 122 | 100.00 |
| Source: Mississippi Secretary of State |||||||

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Adams (largest city: Natchez)
* Clay (largest city: West Point)
* Kemper (largest city: De Kalb)
* Marshall (largest city: Holly Springs)
* Quitman (largest city: Lambert)
* Sharkey (largest city: Rolling Fork)
* Tallahatchie (largest city: Charleston)