2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election
{{Short description|none}}
{{see also|2003 United States gubernatorial elections}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election
| previous_year = 1999
| next_election = 2007 Mississippi gubernatorial election
| next_year = 2007
| election_date = November 4, 2003
| image1 = File:Haley Barbour by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| nominee1 = Haley Barbour
| party1 = Republican Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 470,404
| percentage1 = 52.59%
| electoral_vote1 = 76
| image2 = File:David Ronald Musgrove (cropped).jpg
| image_size = x150px
| nominee2 = Ronnie Musgrove
| party2 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 409,787
| percentage2 = 45.81%
| electoral_vote2 = 46
| map_image = 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
| map_size = 170px
| map_alt =
| map =
| map_caption = County results
Barbour: {{legend0|#e27f7f|50–60%}} {{legend0|#d75d5d|60–70%}} {{legend0|#d72f30|70–80%}}
Musgrove: {{legend0|#a5b0ff|40–50%}} {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}} {{legend0|#3933e5|80–90%}}
| title = Governor
| before_election = Ronnie Musgrove
| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)
| after_election = Haley Barbour
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
| country = Mississippi
| flag_year = 2001
}}
{{ElectionsMS}}
The 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2003, to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour defeated incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove by a margin of 6.78%.
As of {{CURRENTYEAR}}, the election remains the most expensive Mississippi gubernatorial election in state history, with over $18 million having been spent between Barbour and Musgrove.{{Cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/11/04/miss_governor_race_eyed_as_04_harbinger/|title=Miss. governor race eyed as '04 harbinger - The Boston Globe|website=archive.boston.com|language=en|access-date=July 14, 2018}} An additional $5 million was spent by the Republican Governors Association, mostly on television advertising. Barbour's victory in the election made him only the second Republican governor of Mississippi since Reconstruction.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE1D81639F936A35752C1A9659C8B63|title=Republicans Win Top Posts In Mississippi and Kentucky|access-date=May 14, 2008|date=November 5, 2003|work=The New York Times|first=Michael|last=Janofsky}} It was also the last time the governorships of Mississippi and neighboring Louisiana simultaneously flipped to the opposite political party as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}.
Democratic primary
=Candidates=
- Gilbert Fountain, perennial candidate
- Elder McClendon
- Ronnie Musgrove, incumbent Governor of Mississippi
- Katie Perrone
- Catherine Starr, activist
=Campaign=
Musgrove was elected governor in 1999 after a very close election against Michael Parker. As neither candidate had obtained a majority in the election, Musgrove was chosen as governor by the Democratic controlled Mississippi House of Representatives.
As governor, Musgrove had difficulties with the state's legislators. He vetoed the whole budget one year but was overridden by the legislature. However, Musgrove campaigned on having secured the largest pay raise for teachers in the state's history.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/27/elec04.g.mississippi.ap/|title=Barbour's bid for Mississippi governor draws GOP heavyweights|access-date=May 14, 2008|date=October 28, 2003|publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123150429/http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/27/elec04.g.mississippi.ap/|archive-date=November 23, 2007}}
=Results=
{{Election box begin no change
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Ronnie Musgrove (incumbent)
|party=Democratic Party (United States)
|votes=392,264
|percentage=75.82
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Gilbert Fountain
|party=Democratic Party (United States)
|votes=39,685
|percentage=7.67
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Elder McClendon
|party=Democratic Party (United States)
|votes=30,421
|percentage=5.88
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Katie Perrone
|party=Democratic Party (United States)
|votes=28,154
|percentage=5.44
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Catherine M. Starr
|party=Democratic Party (United States)
|votes=26,821
|percentage=5.18
}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes=517,345
|percentage=100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
Republican primary
=Candidates=
- Haley Barbour, Chairman of Republican National Committee, political consultant, Republican nominee for the United States Senate in 1982
- Mitch Tyner, attorney
=Campaign=
Barbour, a former advisor in the White House during the presidency of Ronald Reagan and Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1996, announced that he would run for governor on February 17, 2003. He had previously failed to be elected to the U.S. Senate for Mississippi in 1982, and in 2002 he travelled the state for several months to gauge support for his gubernatorial bid.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/02/17/mississippi.governor.ap/ |title=Barbour launches bid for Mississippi governor |access-date=May 14, 2008 |date=February 17, 2003 |publisher=CNN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041117062008/http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/02/17/mississippi.governor.ap/ |archive-date=November 17, 2004 }}
=Endorsements=
{{Endorsements box
| title = Haley Barbour
| list = Steve Ballmer, President (1998-2000) and CEO (2000-2014) of Microsoft{{Cite web|url=https://www.opensecrets.org/search?order=asc&q=Steve+Ballmer&sort=D&type=donors|title=OpenSecrets|accessdate=February 19, 2024}}
}}
=Results=
{{Election box begin no change
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Haley Barbour
|party=Republican Party (United States)
|votes=158,284
|percentage=83.21
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Mitch Tyner
|party=Republican Party (United States)
|votes=31,768
|percentage=16.70
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
|candidate=Write-ins
|party=Republican Party (United States)
|votes=171
|percentage=0.09
}}
{{Election box total no change
|votes=190,223
|percentage=100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
General election
=Campaign=
Musgrove campaigned as an independent and conservative candidate, downplaying his membership in the Democratic Party and avoiding inviting any national figures to support him. He criticized Barbour for being a lobbyist for the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/04/elec04.election.govs.wrap/|title=Democrats lose Kentucky, Mississippi governorships|access-date=May 14, 2008|date=November 5, 2003|publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130024519/http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/04/elec04.election.govs.wrap/|archive-date=November 30, 2007}} A key message of Musgrove's campaign was that Barbour's support for free trade would cost jobs in Mississippi.{{cite news|url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/state/2003-11-02-mississippi-usat_x.htm|title=Miss. governor's race looks tight|access-date=May 14, 2008|date=November 2, 2003|work=USA Today|first=Ana| last=Radelat}}
Barbour attacked Musgrove for his flawed leadership of the state, blaming him for the state of the economy of Mississippi. He was helped by the President, George W. Bush, who made three trips to the state to support Barbour. Several other leading Republican figures came to Mississippi to support Barbour including Dick Cheney, Jeb Bush and Rudy Giuliani.
A poll in October 2003 showed Barbour having a narrow lead, with 50% saying they would vote for him as against 45% for Musgrove. However another poll at the beginning of November showed Musgrove with 42% against 41% for Barbour and both sides regarded turnout as key to the election.
Exit polls showed that black voters made up a third of the vote and 94% of them backed Musgrove. However among white voters 77% backed Barbour and a quarter of voters who supported Musgrove in his first election in 1999 now backed Barbour.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/10/elec04.exit.polls.ap/|title=Survey data help explain GOP victories in Kentucky, Mississippi|access-date=May 14, 2008|date=November 10, 2003|publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208080630/http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/10/elec04.exit.polls.ap/|archive-date=December 8, 2007}}
= Predictions =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Source
! Ranking ! As of |
|---|
| align=left | Sabato {{cite web |title=Labor Day – One Year Out |website=Sabato's Crystal Ball |date=September 2, 2003 |url=https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ljs2003090201/}} | {{USRaceRating|Tossup}} | September 2, 2003 |
=Results=
{{Election results
|firstround=Popular vote
|secondround=Electoral vote
|party1=Republican Party|cand1=Haley Barbour|votes1=470404|votes1_2=76
|party2=Democratic Party|cand2=Ronnie Musgrove (incumbent)|votes2=409787|votes2_2=46
|party3=Constitution Party|cand3=John Cripps|votes3=6317
|party4=Reform Party|cand4=Shawn O'Hara|votes4=4070
|party5=Green Party|cand5=Sherman Lee Dillon|votes5=3909
|source=[http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2003Elections.asp Mississippi Secretary of State]
}}
== Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic ==
- Copiah (largest city: Hazlehurst)
==Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican==
- Alcorn (largest city: Corinth)
- Amite (largest city: Gloster)
- Greene (largest municipality: Leakesville)
- Grenada (largest municipality: Grenada)
- Itawamba (largest municipality: Fulton)
- Lafayette (largest city: Oxford)
- Lee (largest municipality: Tupelo)
- Montgomery (largest city: Winona)
- Oktibbeha (largest city: Starkville)
- Tate (largest city: Sentobia)
- Tippah (largest municipality: Ripley)
- Tishomingo (largest city: Iuka)
- Union (largest municipality: New Albany)
- Wayne (largest municipality: Waynesboro)
- Winston (largest city: Louisville)
- Yazoo (largest city: Yazoo City)
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/2003GeneralReCap/Certified/01Governor.pdf Mississippi Certified Election Results]
{{United States elections, 2003}}