1999 United States gubernatorial elections

1999 United States gubernatorial elections

October 23 and November 2, 1999

3 governorships
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before 31 17
Seats after 30 18
Seat change 1 1
Seats up 2 1
Seats won 1 2

Map of the results
     Democratic hold      Republican hold
     Democratic gain      No election

United States gubernatorial elections were held in three states in October and November 1999. Kentucky and Mississippi held their general elections on November 2. Louisiana held the first round of its jungle primary on October 23 and did not need to hold a runoff.

The Democratic Party had a net gain of one seat, picking up an open seat in Mississippi. As of 2025, this is the last time a Democrat was elected governor of Mississippi.

Election results

State Incumbent Party First
elected
Result Candidates
Kentucky Paul E. Patton Democratic 1995 Incumbent re-elected.
Louisiana Mike Foster Republican 1995 Incumbent re-elected.
Mississippi Kirk Fordice Republican 1991 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Democratic gain.

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

  1. Mississippi, 1.1%

Kentucky

1999 Kentucky gubernatorial election

November 2, 1999
Turnout22.3% 21.5 pp
 
Nominee Paul Patton Peppy Martin Gatewood Galbraith
Party Democratic Republican Reform
Running mate Steve Henry Wanda Cornelius Kathy Lyons
Popular vote 352,099 128,788 88,930
Percentage 60.7% 22.2% 15.3%

Patton:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Martin:      40–50%      50–60%

Governor before election

Paul E. Patton
Democratic

Elected Governor

Paul E. Patton
Democratic

The 1999 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1999, for the post of Governor of Kentucky. Democratic incumbent Governor Paul E. Patton defeated Republican nominee Peppy Martin to win a second term.

Louisiana

1999 Louisiana gubernatorial election

October 23, 1999
 
Nominee Mike Foster Bill Jefferson
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 805,203 382,445
Percentage 62.17% 29.53%

Parish results
Foster:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Jefferson:      40–50%      60–70%

Governor before election

Mike Foster
Republican

Elected Governor

Mike Foster
Republican

The 1999 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on October 23, 1999, incumbent Republican Mike Foster won reelection to a second term as governor of Louisiana becoming the first Republican to ever do so.

Mississippi

1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

November 2, 1999
January 4, 2000 (contingent election)
 
Nominee Ronnie Musgrove Michael Parker
Party Democratic Republican
Electoral vote 61 61
House vote 86 36
Popular vote 379,033 370,691
Percentage 49.62% 48.52%

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

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.

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. As of 2025, this remains the last time a Democrat was officially elected governor of Mississippi to date.

See also

References

  1. ^ "1999 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Kentucky". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  2. ^ "1999 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Louisiana". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  3. ^ "1999 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Mississippi". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 3, 2025.